The Wandering Warriors
by RiotDragon
Summary: A story about friends from foreign lands, chasing the horde of an evil lynx known as Dregg Ironclaw. But, when the wildcat lays his amber eyes on Redwall, will our heros be able to help the abbey to repel the dark army? R
1. Prologue

OoO( Prologue )OoO

It was a cold winter in Mossflower woods. Winds blew harshly against the trees of the forest and bit like a snake at any creature that travelled outside their shelter. All around the woodlands, creatures lay in their dens sleeping the storm away, listening to the chill winds beat and batter their home as they sit by the fire sharing food and stories with one another.

But, among the fierce gales and howling snow; there was one creature travelling across the woodland to the giant sandstone building known as Redwall Abbey. Well known for giving hospitality to creatures in need, Redwall was a place admired by any creature whether in the woodland, inside its walls, or even in lands far away. Making its way across the woodland, the creature finally reached the edge of the woodland and looked upward, amazed at the collosal belltower that stood proudly over all trees and the walls of the great abbey.

After realizing that there was no visible door on this side of the building, the creature turned and walked alongside the rosey red stone wall; running a paw across its marvelous surface. Turning the corner, the creature saw the giant wooden door and immediately ran to it. Gently leaning against the door, the tall slender figure clad in hood and cloak to protect against the wind; knocked on the door loudly.

OoOoO

Inside the abbey, everybody was cheerful and happy as they ate their dinner in the Great Hall. Table upon table of food was served and every creature in the abbey sat at the great meal and dined on their favorite kind of food: Redwall food.

The Skipper of Otters sat next to the Abbot in his chair dipping a loaf of bread into a large bowl of shrimp and hotroot soup made especially for him by the abbey cook. He sat enjoying his meal when a little otter about the size of his forearm walked up to him and pulled on his rudder-like tail. Looking down at the little furry kit with a mouth full of bread, he managed to smile. Swallowing the food, he grinned at the little otter again.

"What is it little guy?" asked the jolly Skipper.

The dibbun held up a small wooden bowl and grinned back with pearly white teeth. "I runned out of soop! Can I have some of yours?"

Skipper burst into laughter and lifted his bowl off the table. "Of course you can!" he said and held it over to pour into the bowl when the little otter held up a paw.

"Wait Skippa! Hold my bowl, I pour big bowl."

"Uhhh...okay then. Try not to spill any little guy, don't like to waist the stuff." he said switching bowls with the kit, still smiling at the little ones eagerness. "And make sure you save me some, don't go pouring it all into your bowl now." he said jokingly. But, what the little otter did made him smile even wider. As soon as the kit had the large bowl in his paws, he took off like a dragonfly for the front door, laughing uproarously. Skipper stood up and looked at the Father Abbot sitting humbly and picking at his salad with a fork. "I'll be back Father, some little rogue has taken off with my vittles." he said. The abbot smiled and nodded, then Skipper took off after the little otter; not noticing the table of dibbuns laughing histerically at their friends prank.

OoOoO

The otter babe had managed to open the front door of the abbey building when Skipper had caught up to him. Squealing with excitement, the dibbun ran out the door and into the blinding snow storm. Skipper raced after him and managed to grab the little otter around the waist. The dibbun was surprised by the action and the bowl slipped from his hands, spilling all over the white snow; instantly melting it and leaving a red tint on the ground.

"Oh no! Spilled soop!" shouted the little otter, reaching for the ground as if he could pick the soup up and put it back into the bowl.

Skipper smiled and tucked the dibbun under his arm. "Don't worry little one, there is plenty of soup left inside." he said ruffling the little ones head fur. "Lets get back inside and...whats that?" he asked suddenly, turning towards the front gate. "Somebeast is knocking on the gate!" he shouted. Setting the otter down, he turned and said quickly, "Go fetch Father Abbot and tell him someone is at the front gate."

"Who is it Skippa?"

"I don't know yet little one, now go get Father Abbot so we can find out." said the Skipper. The little otter saluted like a soldier and darted back into the abbey building, not bothering to close the door behind him. Skipper turned back towards the gate and ran up the stairs to the battlemented walltop. As he reached the top, he confirmed that somebeast was knocking as another loud rap hit the wooden door. Looking over the edge of the wall, he spotted the hooded figure standing in front of the door. "Ahoy! Are you wanting inside?" shouted Skipper over the shrieking wind.

The creature looked up at Skipper and smiled brightly. "Yes please! Its very cold out here in this storm!" shouted the figure, revealing to Skipper that it was a female.

"I can only imagine. Hold on, I'll open the gate!" he shouted. He skipped down the stairs and skidded to a halt in front of the gate, then kicked the wooden bar keeping the gate secure into the snow. Slowly, he pulled the gate open and the snow clad figure stepped into the door. Reaching up, the cloaked creature lowered its hood and revealed its face. Skipper gasped in surprise. First, because the white fur the creature had almost made her invisible in the snow storm. But the main reason for his sudden shock was that the creature standing in front of him was a white female fox! He stood, unable to speak as the Abbot approached behind him.

"Ah Skipper! Is this our new guest?" asked the old mouse. Skipper silently nodded and the Abbot slipped his hands into his habit sleeves and turned to the beautiful fox. "Welcome to Redwall Abbey. I am the Father Abbot here, so if there is anything you wish from us, be not afraid to ask." he said bowing to her.

She smiled gratefully and bowed back. "Thank you Father Abbot for allowing me into your abbey." she said.

Smiling, the Abbot nodded. "Well, lets get somewhere so we can talk." he said, and led the fox into the gatehouse. Skipper closed and barred the gate, then followed them. Inside, the Abbot sat in a large cushy arm chair and the fox stood in front of him. Skipper sat on the bed in the corner, muscles tensed as the fox smiled at the Abbot. He was prepared to spring and take out the fox if she tried anything against the Abbot. "Have a seat. Now then, lets start with your name shall we?" he asked kindly.

Sitting in the chair across from the Abbot, the fox smiled and nodded. "My name is Arista Snowdrift." she said.

The Abbot smiled. "A beautiful name. I am Father Abbot, and this here is the Skipper of Otters. We personally welcome you here. Now, is there a reason for your visit? Or did you come across our humble abbey by accident?"

"Actually, I came here for a reason. You see, I am from the far east. Across woodland and river, over sea and mountain I have travelled to find this place."

"My, it seems you have had quite a journey here. So you came from across the Great Sea did you?" he asked. She nodded and he continued. "Why would you travel so far to find our abbey?" he asked curiously.

She lowered her eyes. "Well, its rather selfish of me to ask this of you...but I wish for you to tell me a story."

"A story?"

"Yes! You see, my grandfather and his close friend came here many seasons ago. What they did here is a mystery, because my grandfather is mute. He could not tell me the story about what happened here and I wish to know dearly."

Skipper, now interested, cocked his head to the side curiously. "How did you learn of the abbey then, if your grandfather is a mute?" he asked.

She turned to him. "Oh, my mother came with him on his trip here. But she said that she was very young at that time and didn't see much of what happened after she reached the abbey. Only my grandfather and his friend know the true story, and I'm afraid that his friend died shortly before I was born." she said.

A smile flashed across the Abbots face. "Would your grandfathers name happen to be Zango the Shadow?" asked the Abbot curiously.

Arista turned to him in surprise. "Y-You know him?" she asked.

"Yes actually, we knew each other quite well. As well as his friend...what was his name?" he asked rubbing his head in deep thought.

"Cloud Longspear!" she said excitedly.

"Ah yes, Cloud. I remember him quite well now, thank you." he said with a smile.

"So, you can tell me the story?" she asked.

"Yes, but you must be hungry from your travels. Would you like to eat before you hear the story?" he asked.

Her face instantly lit up. "Would I? I've wanted to eat here ever since my mother told me about the famous Redwall Abbey food! I can't wait!" she shouted.

The Abbot smiled joyously. "Wonderful. Follow me to the Great Hall then." he said and walked for the door with Arista behind him, jumping slightly with excitement.

Skipper followed suit, but stopped at the door as the other travelled through the storm. "Cloud Longspear...why does that sound so familiar?" he asked. Shaking the thought from his head, he quickly shut the gatehouse door and followed them into the abbey building.

OoOoO

Everybody in the Great Hall froze when the fox entered. She stepped inside and looked around excitedly. She had seen the tapestry of Martin the Warrior, and it took goading from both the Abbot and Skipper to get her to come and eat something before she withered away. Skipper led her to a seat next to his and she sat down and looked around at all the creatures staring at her in stoney silence.

She sat fidgeting with the hem of her cloak when Skipper sat down next to her. She turned to him nervously. "Umm...Skipper, did I do something wrong?" she asked.

Skipper looked at her, then at the other creatures. "Oh no, don't worry. They are just surprised cause we don't have many of your kind around here. You know, foxes. So it is a little odd to see you here, but the Abbot will clear that up in no time." he said to her.

No sooner had Skipper finished talking then the stood in front of the dining table. Ringing the little bell he always kept by his chair, he began speaking. "Creatures of Redwall. Tonight we have a visitor from lands far away. She has come here as my guest, so treat her as if she were one of the sisters of Redwall." he said. They all said nothing.

Suddenly, Arista felt a soft jerk on her tail. Turning around, she saw a little otter standing behind her smiling. "Will you be my sista too?" he asked.

Smiling, Atista ruffled his furry ears. "Of course I will little one." she said happily. Suddenly, the little otter jumped onto her back and climbed onto her shoulder.

"Den maybe you share soop!" he said looking for her bowl. Arista laughed as Skipper pried the kit off her shoulder and set him down. Some of the other creatures also laughed at the little fellow.

"Don't go botherin' lady Arista you little mite. Go get yer own soup from the cook." Skipper said. The little otter covered his eyes and ran off squealing, sending the rest of the Great Hall into uproarus laughter. Smiling again, Arista stared around at all the different creatures. Most of them she had never seen before, but some also lived in her own village.

Suddenly, a large hedgehog walked over to her with a large smile. "Here missy, try some of this. Can't say you've tasted Redwalls greatest without tasting October Ale." he said. She took the large beaker and sipped it. Her face lit up with pleasure.

"This is wonderful!" she shouted and guzzled down the rest. The hedgehogs eyes widened in surprise.

"Well stap me! Thats the first time anybeast has ever taken a beaker full of October Ale in one breath!" he shouted.

The other creatures began passing her food after food, trying to get her to sample everything they had to offer. She gladly took to the delicious food handed to her by moles, mice, squirrels, and even a hare. A stout mole on her other side passed her a plate with a deliscious looking morsel on it. "And what is this wonderful smelling delicacy called?" she asked.

The moles face wrinkled in a smile. "That be deeper n' ever turnip n' tater n' beetroot poi. It be a favrit of us yurr molers." he said. Arista was taken aback by the speech, but Skipper quickly cleared it up for her.

"He said not to try that pie there until you sampled me favorite shrimp and hotroot soup. Be careful though, its a tongue scorcher." he said scooting the small cauldron over to her. She sampled it and took a draught of October Ale to cool her mouth; then poured herself an entire bowl of it.

She looked at the plates offered to her, then smiled as she picked up a long stalk of something. "This looks tasty." she said and nibbled on it. "What do you call it?"

The creatures surrounding her started to snigger loudly, until a mouse across from her spoke up. "Thats the decoration for the trifle, its a plastic flower." he said. She smiled foolishly and set the flower down.

"Oh, my mistake." she said taking another beaker of the ale to wash her mouth out.

OoOoO

After the grand dinner in the Great Hall, all the dibbuns were shipped up to the dormitories to sleep and the older ones helped to gather the dishes from the table and take them to the kitchen for washing. After the menial chore was finished, the Abbot invited everyone to gather in the Cavern Hole for the story he was about to tell. Most of the creatures had gathered around Father Abbot to hear the story that was to be told.

The Abbot sat in a high backed chair running through the pages of the old abbey records, where many stories were written in memory of warriors lost in battle to protect the abbey from danger. Many warriors there were, including Martin the Warrior, Dandin, Mariel, Taggerung, and many many more. Turning the pages, the Abbot finally stopped at a page and looked up at his audience. Seeing all the eager faces before him, he smiled.

"To all of you who are wondering what this story is about, I shall tell you. Our guest has come here in search of the knowledge of her grandfather. Her grandfather was a great warrior who served our abbey in the past and helped to save our beloved home from certain domination. This is the story of the 'Spring of the Wandering Warriors'."

OoOoO

Woo, my first Redwall attempt. How did I do so far? Good? Bad? Review and let me know!


	2. A Helping Hand

OoO( 1 )OoO

It was calm and cool that day on the eastern coast. The sun rose into the sky from its long slumber and cast a crimson glow across the the placid sea. The day was calm and quiet, like any other beautiful day on the coast line.

Two otters sat on the sands in front of the sea, watching the sun rise to glory across the vast waters. Truvo was an otter from a family of fishers that lived off the sea. Together they all lived in a cave dwelling dug right into the side of a cliff that faced the massive sea.

Truvo's son Garflow was still a kit, but very mature for one so young. The little otter stared across the sea at the orange sun. "Favver, why does the sun get up so early in the mornin'?" he asked.

His father smiled at his sons curiosity and looked at the sun himself. "Cause, he has to get up every mornin' and raise his family. Just like we do." he said gently. The little kit sat and dwelled on the answer for a moment before asking another question.

Jumping to his paws, he smiled at his father. "Well, when are you goin' to show me how to raise a family?" he asked excitedly.

Truvo got up and dusted the sand off of him before responding. "As soon as you get old enough to carry a fishing net son." he said. "But for now, lets go help Uncle Ivan with his boat so he can bring back dinner for us." The little otter nodded eagerly.

"I bet I beat you there!" shouted the little otter as he raced for the small boat near the shore. Truvo kicked up sand as he raced after his hyper son. When they arrived at the craft, they noticed another otter sleeping inside it; wrapped in the sailcloth and snoring loudly.

Truvo snorted at the sight, but still smiled. Walking up to the craft, he gave it a swift kick and yelled, "Ivan!" The otter jumped up at hearing his name and slammed his head on a wooden oar. Holding his head gingerly, Ivan fell back bawling in pain.

"Oh no! They slayed me! I'm killed!" he shouted as he rolled around inside the boat, rocking it back and forth.

"Oh stuff a barnacle in it ya big lug!" said Truvo loudly as his brother sat up rubbing the spot where he had injured his head. "What are you doin' layin' about when theres hungry mouths to feed?" asked Truvo with mock anger.

Ivan slowly looked around and saw Truvo. Looking at his brother sheepishly, he scratched his head. "I was just restin' my eyes ya great barrel gut. And there is only hungry mouths to feed cause you keep stealin' midnight snacks!" said the otter grumpily. But, eventually he sat up and began to rig the boat. With Truvo and Garflow's help, it was up in a short time and was ready to sail. "Cummon lad, lets get this fish into the water." he said as he looked at Garflow. The little otter trundled over and together they shoved the boat through the sand, leaving a large gouge where it had been sitting. It ramped off a sand pile and quickly made a large splash in the water, soaking both otters.

Ivan then jumped into the boat and began oaring away. "Go on and tell that brother of mine that I'll be home around noontide!" shouted Ivan and he slowly drifted up shore. Garflow turned around and raced back for the land where his father was standing with a large smile on his face. When his son ran to him, he picked the little otter up and set him on his shoulders.

"Favver, Uncle said that he would be back around moontime."

Truvo smiled at his son and said, "Moontime huh? Well then we better go fishin' for ourselves if he's goin' to be that late." Walking away from the shore, the two otters went back to their cave to get rest for the day ahead.

OoOoO

The evening wore on as the sun rose higher into the sky. It had reached its zenith long before and was now sinking towards the other horizon. Sand on the beach to the north of the cave flew into the air as the otter ran, his breath heavy and blood dripping from his fore head. Injured as he may be, he still ran.

Truvo had finished with lunch earlier that day and now was sitting in front of the cave, waiting for Ivan to arrive. But his brother was late, which meant something was wrong. He scanned the northern sea for any sign of his brother, only to see nothing. Then, as he scanned again a figure on the sands caught his eye.

Ivan ran with every ounce of energy he could muster. He saw the cave and used the last of his energy to print to the entrance. Truvo saw his brother approach and immediately got to his paws. Ivan reached his brother and fell over in the sands, his chest heaving greatly from lack of air.

"Ivan! What's wrong mate?" shouted Truvo as he reached for the otter.

"Is...everyone...alright?" he asked through gasps for air.

Truvo got onto one knee and turned his brother onto his back. "What do you mean?" he asked confusedly.

Ivan sat up and looked at his brother. "What do I mean? The pirates! They said that they had already sacked our cave down here!" he yelled. Truvo shook his head in shock.

"There were no pirates around here mate. They don't come around 'til winter, maybe that blow to the head got to ya..."

"There are pirates and they said that they..." The otter suddenly stopped shouting as realization struck him like a rolling boulder. "Th-They haven't been here?" he asked. His brother shook his head. "Oh no..."

OoOoO

South of the cave dwelling, three travellers walked along the sandy beach, looking for any sign of life that could help them on their journey. One was a ferret with thin black armor on and a long bladed pike over his shoulder. The taller one was a fox with fur as black as night and a tunic and belt to match, and the third was a smaller fox; half the size of the other two but colored the natural orange.

Together they marched down the beach, not saying a word to each other until the ferret spotted something ahead of them. It was a ship, but not like the one they had sailed in. This one bore red tattered sails and an evil aura about it. The ferret turned to his comrade and questioned him.

"What do you think mate? Pirates?" he asked. The black fox said nothing; but put hispaw on the blade in his belt in response. "I thought so too. By the size of that ship they could number from a dozen to a score and a half." he said. Drawing his short sword but keeping it from view, the fox looked at the ferret questioningly. The ferret nodded gravely. "I don't like pirates much either mate, and seeing them beached means one of two things. They either ran out of food and water and have landed to look for more, or worse. They found some place that they think might have something valueable. Which means that somebeast is in trouble over there if that is the case. I think we should check it out."

The fox nodded and all three ran towards the otters cave.

OoOoO

"They used me to find the cave!" shouted Ivan as he beat the cave wall with his fist. Truvo and his other brothers were inside hiding the women children; hoping that the pirates wouldn't find them in the secret cave under the floor. When all of them were inside, Truvo closed the wooden trap door and buried the secret door under sand.

"Its not your fault mate. They lied to you, you had no way of knowin' it was a trick." said Truvo as he grabbed a sword made of coral stone and tossed it to the oldest of the brothers. Grabbing a long stave for himself, he turned to the crestfallen otter. "Now get on your hunkers and grab somethin' to help us. We have to fight them off now that they are here."

Ivan grabbed a small cudgel and a sling from the pile they had mustered. "Yeah...your right. We have to keep them away from Juna and the others."

"They're here!" shouted the oldest otter as he stared out of the cave entrance to the ship on the shore. The eight strong male otters walked out of the cave entrance to face the threat.

As they all filed out of the cave, they noticed over a score of vermin standing on the shore at the waters edge. The leader of the pirates was a large raggedy rat with a red headband on his head that stood ahead of the rest. He drew a lethal looking scimitar from his matching sash and aimed it Truvo. "You there, put down those weapons and surrender. Then maybe we'll let you live." said the rat with a sneer.

Truvo glared at the rat darkly. "You know what I got to say to that offer rat?" he asked. The rat said nothing, when Truvo nodded. Ivan stepped forward and let the stone in his sling fly, making it smash into the rats nose instantly knocking him off his paws.

The rat bellowed in pain as the stone collided with his snout. Grasping his damaged nose, he yelled out, "Get him!" All the other vermin from the ship raised their weapons, ready to charge; when they were all startled to a halt by a loud whistle. Both the otters and the vermin crew looked in the direction of the sound and spotted a ferret and a fox standing down the shore from them. "What do you want?" shouted the head pirate.

The ferret looked at him and yelled back, "Which of you lot are the pirates?" Although he could tell by looking at them, he wanted to make sure.

"We are! And don't think that you are gettin' any of the loot when we are done slayin' all these otters!" shouted the leader, who was now back on his feet. The ferret smiled and hefted his pike. It was a long weapon with a handle made of hardened black wood and what looked like a rapier blade on the end.

Truvo looked at the two figures and a grim look crossed his face. "They don't look like good news mate."

Ivan sighed. "I know. We mighta been able to get rid of the pirates by ourselves, but those two look like trouble." he said. Suddenly, the ferret turned to Truvo.

"You there! Would you like some help with these vermin?" asked the ferret.

Truvo's face went from grim to confused. He glared at the ferret and decided it better to negotiate then to make another enemy. "What's your price ferret?" he asked.

"We'll talk about that when I've finished." he said, then ran forward. The fox stood where he was as his friend charged towards the crowd of rats on the shore.

"What do we do? Do we help 'im?" asked Ivan.

"I don't think we have a choice. If we take out the pirates, we can overpower those two easily if they try anything." he said. Gripping his stave tightly, he ran forward and attacked the rats head on.

The ferret had taken four rats off their feet with a quick horizontal thrust of his pike, clothslining all of them. Then, he used his momentum to swing around and slash two more with the blade instantly killing them.

Truvo and the otters had sent rats flying head over heel when they crashed into the horde of pirates. Truvo swung back and forth cracking rats over their heads and across their jaws. Ivan and the others swung clubs and slings taking the rat army down without much of a fight.

Finally all the rats had been either slain or pummeled to unconsciousness; except for the leader. The ferret warrior turned to the rat and held his pike blade at the rats throat. "And what should I do with you?" he asked.

The rat cowered and crawled backwards in an attempt to get away from the blade, but failed miserably. "P-Please, don't kill me. I never meant you any harm." moaned the rat. But the blade only got closer, biting into the skin on his neck.

The ferret glared at the rat. "I should kill you here and now for threatening good innocent folk like them. You pirates disgust me. But, I won't. I shall leave your fate in the hands of those you meant to slay. If they decide that you should die, then I won't hesitate to kill you. So plead your innocence to them, not me." he said as he pulled the blade back. Walking forward, he gave the rat a swift kick which turned it onto its stomach in front of the otters.

Truvo was astounded at the ferrets words. Never had he heard such justified talk come from a ferret before, and never did he think he would. Only when Ivan elbowed him did he come back to reality and look down at the rat. Growling, he walked up and jabbed the rat in the nose with his stave. "Why should I let you live rat?" asked the otter.

The rat winced in pain as the otter prodded his already injured nose. "P-Please. I wasn't actually goin' to 'urt you. We just wanted a little food and water after a long journey. Please spare me!" said the rat. Truvo could tell just by looking at the rat that he was near tears.

Pulling his stave back, Truvo used it to lean upon. "Well rat, you deserve nothin' less than to be slain for tryin' to attack our cave." he said. At this, the rat cowered as if he were about to be struck. "But, I am not a murderer, nor will I ever be. It is not my place to kill an unarmed beast. But, if you ever come around this shore, I will take it as a threat and won't stop to think about killing you. Now take the survivors of this ship and get runnin'!" he said sharply, making the rat jump. Quickly, the fallen leader woke up what was left of his crew and together they all ran for their lives.

The otters all turned to the two who had helped to win the battle. The ferret and the fox, who was now at his partners side, both turned to the otters and stared as well. It was silent for a while before the ferret spoke. Shifting his wieght onto the spear, he smiled slightly. "Those were nice words. I am glad you decided not to kill them." he said.

Truvo, still stone faced at the ferrets attitude, replied. "Yeah. They are pirates and have no doubt killed before, but they are all cowards. They will eventually run into someone who isn't as kind as we were." he said staring the ferret in the eyes.

"I suppose you'll be wantin' that reward now?" asked Ivan, who still didn't trust the two.

The ferret smiled and shook his head. "No reward is necissary. I just wanted to help because I can tell that you are kind beasts, unlike them. I could never accept a reward for helping you out with something as small as that." he said. Ivan's eyes widened at the response.

"Y-You mean you don't want anything?" he asked, gaining him an elbow to the stomach from Truvo.

The ferret laughed out loud. "Well, I would like some information if you wouldn't mind. We came this way looking for somebody, but we haven't had much luck in finding him." he said.

"Well, that can wait 'til after dinner. Would you like to join us?" asked Truvo.

Both the ferret and the fox smiled. "Well, if its not too much trouble. It has been a few days since we had something decent to eat." he said.

"Of course. After all, you did save us from losing anybody to those blasted pirates. My name is Truvo, and these are my brothers." said the otter.

The ferret shook the otters paw warmly. "This is my partner Zango the Shadow. My name is Cloud. Cloud Longspear."

OoOoO

Later that evening, the caves natural happiness had been restored when the otters came back untouched. Like Ivan, the women had trouble believing that Cloud and Zango didn't want a reward for their deeds; but even they warmed to the two polite beasts. The kits in the cave were immediately entranced by the spectre like appearance of the black fox, which had gotten him a few friends among the younger otters.

The pirate ship had been pilfered for anything of value, then torn apart for firewood. The rest was sent off to drift in the sea until it beached somewhere else, or sunk.

Inside the cavern, the otters got to know the three travellers. Zango had gone and brought the little fox back with them. Truvo sat with Cloud talking over a bowl of shrimp stew with a small loaf of bread a piece. "So, where do you come from friend?" asked the otter.

Cloud took a swift bite of the bread and swallowed before answering the otters question. "I come from across the sea. It was a long journey here, but we made it in one piece." he said smiling.

Truvo looked at him curiously. "Why would you be travellin' that far over a sea for? Surely you didn't come all this way to look for food." said the otter.

"Of course not! As I told you before, we came looking for another beast that was said to come this way. We have been tracking him far and wide for four seasons now with no success in our mission. Only recently had we heard that he travelled the sea to here."

"So, what is this fellers name? And why are you lookin' for 'im?" he asked curiously.

Cloud froze when asked the question. He waited a moment before answering the otter. "All I can tell you is his name. They call him Dregg Ironclaw, and he is supposed to be somewhere in this coutryside. Have you heard of him?" he asked.

Truvo thought for a second before shaking his head. "Sorry mate, can't help you there." he said.

Cloud smiled slightly at the answer. "Good, its probably better that way." he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Lets just forget about it, alright?" asked the ferret. Taking the bowl in his paws, he drank the last of the stew and wiped his mouth on the back of his paw. "The less you know about him, the safer you will be." he said.

Truvo was still confused, but left it alone after seeing his friends mood shift. Seeing Cloud finish his stew, a beautiful female otter walked up to Cloud with a smile. "Would you like some more stew?" she asked. The ferret mearly held the bowl forward and bowed his head politely.

"And who do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

"That's our sister. She has the most beautiful voice in Mossflower Country." said Ivan from on the floor. The otter had made good friends with Zango and his daughter, Liska. Together, they sat on the sandy floor with Ivan's other brothers, trading different treasures with Zango.

The ottermaid covered her face modestly. "Honestly, its not that good!" she said.

Truvo smiled at her. "Folks named her Songcrest because of 'er singin'. She could charm the birds into given 'er their eggs if she tried." he said.

She smiled and gave her brother a playful punch, sending him to the ground. "Oh stop it you big flatterer!" she said.

Cloud stood to his feet and smiled at her. "Thank you for your kindness, but that stew filled me up quite nice." he said.

The ottermaid looked him in the eyes and instantly knew that it was a mask. Her face changed from embaressed to worried in an instant as the ferret warrior walked away.

OoOoO

That night, Cloud sat on the beach outside staring up at the full moon. He left his weapon and his friends inside the cave to sleep, not wanting to bother them. Staring up at the heavens, a tear rolled down his face, noticed only by him and the otter watching him. Songcrest had watched him leave the cave and followed him out to the beach. Now that she saw his true face, she felt rather heartbroken that something could make a warrior like him cry.

"Can I ask you something?" asked the ottermaid quietly.

Although surprised by her presence, the ferret didn't move a muscle to look at her. Keeping his gaze locked onto the moon, he mearly answered back in the same tone. "Go ahead. I'll answer it if I can."

Sitting next to him, the ottermaid looked at the night sky with him before speaking again. "What is it that you are hiding from us?"

Finally looking away from the sky, he stared at her confusedly. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I heard you talking to my brother about this Dregg Ironclaw. He did something to you to make you look for him didn't he?" she asked. "What did he do that can make a battle hardened warrior like you cry?"

Cloud looked at the waves lapping onto the shore. He kept staring into the waters, wondering if he should tell her. Finally, he broke the silence. "If I tell you, you have to promise me that you will tell nobeast about it. I don't want others worried about me while they have their whole life to live." he said.

"I promise." she said.

Taking a deep breath of the cool night air, he spoke in a quiet tone. "Five seasons ago, I lived in a village where nothing went wrong and nothing out of the ordinary happened. It was the most peaceful, quiet place that you could ever imagine...until _he _showed up." he said. "Zango, our leader Shinrah Icefur, myself, and a friendwere out teaching Zango's daughter the ways of the forest. How to gather, track, forage, and other useful trades in our village. We did the same with all the children in the village when they become a certain age. But that day of all days, I left my wife and son in the village to help Zango teach his daughter everything she needed."

Songcrest hadn't heard most of the story, but she could already tell where it was going. She sat and stared at the ferret as he related his story to her.

"Dregg Ironclaw attacked my village with a horde of over a thousand vermin. The villagers never stood a chance, and he didn't take any prisoners. He didn't spare anybeast, not even my wife or new born son. He attacked like a shadow and vanished from the country afterwards. So we went after him. After we landed here,wesplit up to look for his army.We are toalert the other if we find him. But we haven't had much luck." he said. Looking over at the ottermaid, he noticed that tears were running from her eyes as well.

"That's terrible! How could anybeast be so evil?" she asked.

He mearly shrugged at the question. "I don't know. I was raised in a different place far from that village where war was everywhere. Survival was the only thing on anybeasts mind, so I have seen plenty of bloodshed in my day as a young one. But, none of it compares to the sight I saw at the village that day." he said looking at the moon again.

The ottermaid just stared at the waves after drying her eyes. Then, another question came to her and she looked at the warrior. "Wait, how is your leader going to find you if he finds the army?" she asked.

"He doesn't have to. All he has to do is howl, and we will know where to find him." he responded.

"Howl? What do you mean?" she asked.

"Our leader is a creature unlike many others. He is a white furred wolf, which gives him the ability to track at amazing speed."

"A wolf?" she asked surprised.

He nodded. "Yes, and when he howls, it would send a chill to the bone of even the most hardened warrior. It can be heard across country easily, which is how he is going to contact us." he said.

Even though she only heard the description of their leader, she already felt her insides go cold. But she ignored the feeling as she stared at him again. "Well, maybe we should get inside. You don't want to freeze out here do you?" she asked playfully.

He smiled and stood up, shaking the sand from his long cloak. Holding his paw out to her, she grasped it and he pulled her up. "I guess not. I better get some sleep as well if I'm going to start tracking again tomorrow." he said. Together, they walked away from the wave washed beach and into the cave.

OoOoO

**ChesButler: **Thanks. You're my first reviewer.  
**Nin: **Well, the little guy thing I didn't really think about. But I had to think over putting the plastic flower in there. I knew that it was a little away from the story. But, oh well. Whats done is done.  
**RiverFox237: **Wow, I'm glad you like the story. And I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the Prologue. Thanks for the review!  
**Thedarkflamer: **Thanks, thats the first time I got a compliment from a flamer.

Well, I'll try and get the next chapter done in a hurry now that I have fans to read it. Keep an eye peeled.


	3. A New Ruler

OoO( 2 )OoO

Mossflower Woods was as green as ever after recovering from its winter hibernation. Trees, shrubs, bushes, flowers, and fruit all grew profusely as the warm sun blanketed the forest in warmth. But, all was quiet in the forest. Not a single bird could be heard, nor the buzzing of bees headed to do their daily chore of pollinating. The only thing that could be heard, was the heavy breathing of a quiet vermin horde.

The stoat captain Ravelor silently walked to the tent placed at the head of the camp and moved the curtain aside. Peering inside, he asked, "May I enter Milord?"

"Yes, enter and report." said a dark voice from inside. The stoat walked in and tried not to look at his master, but it couldn't be helped. Dregg Ironclaw was a fearsome sight, able to send a chill down the spine of anybeast; even those induced with the legendary bloodwrath. He was a black wildcat with piercing amber eyes that slanted, like those of a snakes. But, unlike normal wildcats, his ears were slightly larger and had small tufts of fur coming off the end of each one. He wore black armor on his chest that seemed to add to his size, and a long cloak that matched. But, the most noticable thing on his body was the weapons he used in battle. On both front paws was a black mailed gauntlet with three sharp blades protruding from the ends by four paw lengths. All the blades were stained red with the blood of his enemies, just like his teeth.

Ravelo shivered as he looked away from his lord. "Well, report!" said the cat impatiently.

The stoat stood strait and looked ahead obediently. "Sir! The scavenging parties were able to find a decent amount of food! Mostly vegetation and fruit, but there are fish in the streams around us that can be caught easily sir!" he said in a monotone.

Dregg stood to his paws and slowly walked over to the stoat. The captain froze as his leader approached him, not daring to move should it offend the wildcat. Stopping in front of the captain, Dregg looked down at the creature silently. He towered over his underling, making the stoat close his eyes; thinking he had done something wrong. "Good, send two score vermin plus the scavengers to go fishing. Bring everything back to the storage tent until I say otherwise. If anybeast even thinks about touching the food without my permission, they will have me to deal with." he said. The stoat saluted quickly and ran out of the tent.

Suddenly, Dregg's informant stepped into the tent and stayed silent. Dregg noticed the small weasel and nodded. "What is it Scorch?" he asked.

The weasel bowed his head and said, "Milord, we have found a band of tough lookin' rats travellin' through the woods out there. They claim that we are tresspassin' on their territory." he said.

Dregg thought for a moment before deciding what to do. He had been a little out of practice since he arrived at this peaceful country. It was about time he showed the beasts of this land who was its new ruler. "I will deal with them myself. Take me to them." he said.

The weasel gulped at the thought, but nodded and led the wildcat out of the tent. They walked across the camp and to the edge of it were there stood almost two dozen great rats, armed to the teeth with all different kinds of weapons. The leader stood forward and faced Dregg, eyeing him suspiciously. "Are you da boss o' dis liddle party?" he asked.

Dregg smiled darkly and nodded. "Yes. I assume you came here to join my army and help me conquer this country...what did you say your name was?" he asked.

The rat spit on the ground in front of the wildcat and started laughing. "You think I came 'ere to join up wid you?" he asked and his entire band started laughing with him. Then, he stopped and glared at the cat. "I didn't come 'ere to join up wid some cat and his circus! I came to get yous all off o' my land!" he yelled.

Dregg smiled again. His army looked away, knowing what was coming. "If you are not with my army, you are against me, which means you are my enemy. Do you know what I do to my enemies?" he asked. The rat said nothing as the leader of the armys smile faded. Drawing a small dagger and a rusty looking sword from his back, the rat prepared for anything...except what happened. Dregg was a very fast beast, so the rat didn't even have time to react. Quickly, the warlord sank his teeth deep into the throat of his opponent, instantly paralyzing the rat and making him drop the weapons.

The band of rats stared horrified as their leader fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood, gasping for air. Dregg turned to the others in the band and said, "Now then, do any of you want to try what he has failed, or would you like to join my army?" he asked. All the rats threw their weapons on the ground. The wildcat smiled. "Good, then you are now my allies. Have a seat and make a fire for yourself. The food will be passed out shortly." he said, then grabbed the fallen rat and dragged him back to the tent.

Scorch the weasel approached one of the rats and shook his head gravely. "I pity your friend mate, he's got a painful night ahead of him." he said.

All that night, none of the vermin camp could sleep because of the sound of bone chilling screaming coming from their lords tent.

OoOoO

Redwall was peaceful that day, unaware of the danger that lay east of them. It was a day of festivities, the first day of spring. Everybeast in the abbey was abuzz with chores that needed finished for the festival that night. Everybeast, especially the dibbuns were excited about the festival, for they had not had a Redwall feast in a long time.

All the older creatures were in the kitchen, running back and forth from one dish to the next to make sure everything was perfect for the upcoming feast. The younger and stronger ones helped to set up everything outside in the sunny afternoon; from tables and chairs, to the stage for the talent show. The dibbuns...well, the dibbuns did what they do best. Try to help everybeast by doing the exact opposite.

The kitchens were packed with creatures, making it hard for anybeast to see who the culprit behind all the trouble was.

"Friar! That cake is slipping off the table!" shouted a small vole. The friar squirrel ran over as quickly as he could and tipped the tilting cake back onto the table. Wiping the sweat from his brow with a dockleaf, the head cook sighed.

"Who tossed hotroot pepper into the pudding? It tastes aweful!" shouted a mouse from across the kitchen.

"Somebody put the strawberry turnovers in the oven!" shouted a mousemaid.

"They're supposed to go in the oven." said a frustrated squirrel.

"Not strait into the fire they're not!" replied the mousmaid.

"Who's stealing berries from my basket? Those were strictly for the pies I was making!" said a irritated hedgehog.

"Hmmm...this 'otroot puddin' ain't arf bad!" said an older otter delightedly.

"So it was you!" shouted the mouse.

"It wasn't me Parlo, I was jes testin' it."

"Oh lackaday! Some cad took a bite out of my pastie! Who, may I ask, who would do such a thing to a poor starving beast like myself? Why, I'm barely fur and bones!" said a dramatic hare wearing a cooks hat.

"Clovy, you are supposed to be helping with the food, not eating it! Fur and bones indeed." snorted the mousemaid. She turned and reached for a loaf of bread, when she saw it disappear under the feet of the hare. "Aha! I got you, you little food swiper!" she yelled as she dove for the little mouse under the hares paws. But the only thing she managed to do was trip the hare and make him smash his face in the pastie he was about to take a bite of.

Looking up, the comical hare had food smeared all over his face. Placing his chin on his paw, he sighed. "Can't a chap catch a bally break around here?" he asked with one ear bent at an angle.

The little dibbun ran for the door as the mousemaid chased after him with a ladle in her paw.

"Ah! Somebeast put a thistle down my back!" yelled a chubby squirrel. He jerked around frantically trying to get the pointed object out of his shirt, knocking into a mole that was heaving a small cauldron of boiling stew. The scorching stew spilled right onto the bob tail of Clovy, making him shriek in pain.

"Yaaah!" he shouted and jumped into the air, holding both paws over his tender tail. He landed directly in the woodland trifle that was sitting on the table next to him. His tail was instantly cooled by the dessert. "Ah, that hit the spot." he said relaxedly. Everybody in the kitchen glared at him as he nibbled at his new throne. Looking around, he said, "What?"

OoOoO

Outside the main building, creatures worked together to put up the stage for the talent show. The Abbess, a wise beautiful mouse named Belle, guided them through the process of constructing the small stand. She smiled as some of the dibbuns that were out playing wrapped themselves in the canvas for the stage. They ran around playing some odd game that dibbuns constantly made up. But, then she noticed him. One creature was not helping with anything, just standing on the walltop staring out across the forest.

The Abbess looked at the otter, hedgehog, and three moles that were putting the stage together and smiled slightly. "Um, Skipper. Do you and the others think you can manage without me for a moment?" she asked politely.

The burly otter smiled with pearly white teeth. "Sure can Miss Belle, go on about your buisiness." he said.

She bowed to him in thanks and walked towards the wall stairs. When she reached the top, she saw a young mouse leaning against the battlements; staring out across the countryside. "Mel, is something the matter?" she asked.

The young mouse jumped slightly, but recovered quickly. "Oh, Mother Abbess! W-What are you doing up here?" he asked.

Placing her paws inside the sleeves of her long robe, she sighed. "I could ask you the same thing. I thought Skipper placed you on table duty." she said. Mel scratched his head guiltily and looked at his feet.

"Sorry, its just that there was something on my mind, and I needed a clear place to think." he said. "I'll get right on the tables, don't worry."

"This something thats on your mind wouldn't have anything to do with our infirmary sister would it?" she asked coyly. His eyes went wide at hearing her question and he began to stutter constantly.

"W-W-What do you m-mean?" he asked.

She smiled again. "So, it is her." she said. "I thought I saw something in your eyes when you looked at her." she said as she smiled brightly. The young mouse lowered his head as if being punished. "Mel, its nothing to be ashamed of. Many of the younger mice in our abbey have had their eye on Sister Mary." she said.

"I know. She has so many to choose from, so why would she pick me?" he asked rejectedly.

The Abbess placed a paw on his shoulder. "Now Mel, it sounds like you are giving up before you even try."

"But what can I do to get her to notice me?" he asked almost desperately.

The Abbess thought for a second. Then, her face brightened and she looked at him. "How about you give her a bouquet of roses?" she suggested.

"But...the only roses in the abbey are from your personal garden. Where else would I..." he said, but was cut short.

"Exactly, I'll give you some of my roses and you can give them to her as a gift." she said.

Mel's eyes widened, as did his smile. "You mean it? I can have some? Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!" he shouted and gave the small mouse a tight hug. She laughed as he squeezed her tightly.

"Okay Mel, now let go before you kill your Abbess." she said jokingly. He let go and began skipping down the stairs.

"You just wait! I'll make sure the tables are perfect for tonights feast!" he shouted and ran to join the others.

She smiled as he dashed away happily. "Oh, to be in love. Its such a wonderful thing." she said. Then she began to descend the stairs and make her way back to the stage.

OoOoO

Just southeast of Redwall, two water voles sat quietly in their homes eating a small meal of watercress soup and a fruit salad. They ate quietly and happily, munching on the apples in their salad and sipping their soup strait from the bowl.

Suddenly, a loud thump on their ceiling alerted them. The female vole looked to her mate and asked, "What do you think that was?"

The other looked up at the ceiling as well, wondering the same thing. "Not sure, it was too loud to be one of the apples from our trees. It must be something else." he said. He stood up and walked over to the corner, where lay a small club studded with flint and a sling made for tossing river stones. "I'll go take a look." he said.

"Why are you bringing those? Do you think its dangerous?" she asked worriedly.

He put both weapons into a leather belt around his waist and walked to the underwater entrance of their home. "I don't know, but its better to have something and not need it, then to need something and not have it. I'll come back if it looks too dangerous to handle." he said, then nosedived into the water. He swam like a fish through the small cave entrance and into the late afternoon sun. He climbed onto the shore and looked around, keeping both paws on his weapons. "Hmm...don't see anythin'. Must've been somebeast running through here." he said. As he turned around, his blood almost froze in its veins.

Standing behind him was the biggest fiercest creature he had ever seen in his life. It was on four legs and stood twice his size. White fur covered its entire body, and it had freezing blue eyes that ran through him like a dagger; with a feather decoration hanging from one ear. The vole stumbled backwards as the creature started growling. Then, it lunged forward and grabbed the vole in its teeth...

OoOoO

**Riverfox237: **Thanks again for the review. I'm glad that you like it so far.  
**Neko: **Well, I suppose. But if you are asking for every character that has a name I can't help you. I know most of the main ones and sidekicks, but not every little detail. If you want the list then email me.

Well, this chap. was shorter than I normally allow, but I am working on my other novel right now so I kinda have to second this to it. Sorry if it isn't up to your standards in the future.


	4. Journey to Redwall

OoO( 3 )OoO

The vole panicked and tried to crawl backwards, but it didn't have the strength nor the speed to dodge the beasts attack. Lunging forward, the creature grabbed the vole in its teeth and tossed it along the ground, making it roll a short distance away.

"Where did you come from? I don't remember seeing you here a moment ago!" shouted the creature. The vole was unable to speak and sat on the ground paralyzed with fear. The creature, obviously of short patience, yelled, "Answer me! Now!"

"Shinrah!" shouted a voice from above. The creature looked up and a slim female squirrel jumped out of the tree and landed next to him. She stood much taller than the vole and wore a bow and quiver on her back. "Yelling won't help anything." she said. The creature snorted as the squirrel kneeled down to the vole. Smiling gently, she said, "You will have to excuse my friend. He doesn't like it when he misses something while he's tracking."

The vole, still unable to take its eyes off the white creature, said, "W-W-What is that thing?"

The beast started to growl at being called a 'thing'. The vole covered his mouth with both paws, not wanting to dig his grave any deeper. "He's a wolf. I can tell that they aren't that common in this country, so I will explain more later. But we have a few questions for you first." said the squirrel politely. The vole finally pryed his eyes away from the wolf to look at the squirrel, then nodded. "Have you seen a black lynx come this way at the head of about five hundred vermin?" she asked.

The voles face was a mask of confusion. "W-Whats a lynx?" he asked.

"Its a type of wildcat. But slightly bigger and much more dangerous." replied the wolf calmly. The vole simply shook his head. The wolf sighed in frustration. "Then we will have to search elsewhere." he said.

The squirrel stood and turned to her leader. "How could he just disappear into another country with five hundred following him? Surely someone would have seen him somewhere." she said. "Where would he go?"

The vole looked up at the squirrel urgently. "Five hundred you say?" he asked. The squirrel turned and nodded to him. "Well, I don't know where he is, but maybe I can tell you where he is going."

The wolf stepped forward eagerly, making the vole flinch in fear. "Where? Where has he gone?" asked the creature. "Please, you must tell us!"

"But...before you go, I want to know more about this army. If he has that many under his control, then he would surely find us here. I don't want to be a bother, but I want to protect my family as well." he said. The wolf glared at him.

"Alright. If you tell us where he might be going, then we will tell you about him." she said. The vole nodded. "Alright, you first. Where would he go in this stretch of land?" she asked him.

The vole pointed northwest of where they sat. "There is a place about seven days walk in that direction. It is likely that if your friend has heard of it, then he would go there."

"He isn't our friend!" shouted the wolf, making the vole cower again. But the squirrel calmed the massive creature and turned back to the frightened vole.

"What is this place called, and how would we know it?" she asked.

"Its a giant sandstone building that you can't miss. You can begin to see it after five and a half days of walking, but only barely." said the vole.

"And whats it called?" asked the wolf impatiently.

"Redwall...Redwall Abbey."

OoOoO

The sky was now covered with dark clouds as an approaching storm crawled its way across the sky like a dibbun looking for its mother. Wind blew sharply from the sea and hammered against the cliffside, making tree and shrub dance in its elegant flow.

Inside the cavern, Cloud and Zango prepared for the journey ahead of them. They gathered their belongings and packs that were made for them by the inhabitants of the cave, but were quickly set upon with many questions.

"Do you really have to leave now? Its going to rain soon." asked Juna, Truvo's wife.

The ferret wrapped his cloak around him as he looked at the pretty otter. "'Fraid so. The sooner we find who we are looking for, the better off this place is. Rain never bothered us none, so don't worry about us." he said cheerily. Juna frowned at the response, but Cloud quickly cheered her up. "Don't look so gloomy missy, you'll bring the rain inside. Don't worry, we'll visit once we finish our buisiness. I give you my word." he said.

She smiled at him. "You better, or I'll track you down and drag you back here." she said punching him jokingly.

The ferret warrior rub his arm softly and grinned. "I'd believe it..." he said. Suddenly, a paw grabbed his shoulder lightly. He turned to see Zango standing behind him. Nodding to reassure the fox, he turned back to Juna. "Sorry, but we have to go." he said. Juna nodded and Cloud turned for the entrance.

"So, where we headed first?" asked a voice behind them. Cloud turned to see Ivan and Songcrest with packs across their backs and a walking stick each.

"Sorry, but I can't bring you along." he said.

"How come?" asked Songcrest, almost outraged.

"I think you know why miss." he said sternly.

Ivan looked at his sister, then back at Cloud. "Well, we're goin' with whether you like it or not." he said. Before Cloud could respond, the otter began talking again. "Who else is goin' to lead you through this country without sinkin' you in a marsh somewhere? None of you know where your goin', so whats wrong with us takin' you there?" he asked.

Cloud opened his mouth to respond, but could think of nothing to say. Songcrest took over where her brother left off. "Precisely, how would you find your way anywhere without our help?" she asked.

"Its too dangerous." he said.

"I appreciate that your worried about us, but we can hold our own." said the ottermaid. Cloud looked at them, not having to tell them that he wasn't convinced. "Alright, how about this. We will go with you until we reach Redwall Abbey, then we will leave you to your buisiness. How does that sound?" she asked.

Cloud thought for a moment before giving his answer. Looking up, he eyed both eager otters, then sighed. "Alright, fine. You can come along until we reach this Redwall place, then you both have to stay there and leave us to our tracking." he said. They both nodded and he glanced around the cavern at the faces of the otter family. Both Ivan and Songcrest stood behind the three travellers and they all said their goodbyes. Ivan gave Truvo and his brothers one last firm paw shake while Songcrest hugged Juna and the little kits running circles around her.

"Don't worry little ones, we will come back soon." she said gently.

Cloud waited until the goodbyes were said before speaking his part. Stepping forward, he smiled at the otter family in front of him. "We thank all of you for your hospitality and kindness. You all have shown us that friends can be found in any land. And for this I thank you again. If you are ever in need of me, know that one day, when I have finished my mission at hand, I will return to your wonderful home and visit you all again."

"And we have you to thank as well. If it had not been for you comin' around here when you did, we might not all be here right now. We owe you our lives." said Truvo as he stepped forward. Holding out his paw, he looked at Cloud with a look of seriousness on his face. "And thats why me and my brothers have decided to make you our sworn brothers." he said.

Cloud was rendered speechless when he heard Truvo say this. Looking down at the otters hand, he smiled at him. Taking Truvo's hand, he shook it firmly and said, "Its an honor to be declared the brother of one such as yourself Truvo. If you ever need my spear, then you only need to ask." he said. After Zango shook Truvo's paw as well, the party left the cave and began their journey westward towards Redwall Abbey.

OoOoO

Quiet and calm lay the vermin camp of Dregg Ironclaw. Everybeast lay on the ground on makeshift beds trying to gain some sleep after that days events. Campfires burned low, leaving only glowing embers to heat the vermin all around them. But there was one that was still alight.

At the edge of the vermin camp, the greatrats sat around their cooking fire, terrified to go to sleep. They had never seen an act so ruthless before, not by anybeast. As they sat contemplating their current chances of survival, a thought came to one of them. Turning to the former second in command, one of the rats whispered, "Hey Greytooth...what you t'ink dey did wid ol' Vurhide?"

The greatrat shook his head solemnly. "I don't know mate, but I don't want to be the one to find out." he said.

A sudden shadow alerted them and interrupted their conversation. Turning around, they all saw Scorch holding a small torch over his head. "Which one of you was the second to the big rat?" he asked. All the others immediately pointed at Greytooth, thinking he was going to get punished for being an ally to their former leader.

He turned to them and glowered. "Traitors!" he shouted at them. They all just stared at him in silence.

"Lord Ironclaw wants to see you in his tent." said the weasel. "I'm to guide you there miself, incase you should get lost somewhere in the woods and never be seen again." he said.

Greytooth then glared at the weasel. "I'm no coward weasel!" he shouted.

"We'll see about that." said Scorch as he led the greatrat away from the others.

Inside the tent, Dregg Ironclaw waited for the rats arrival. When the greatrat came through the tent curtain, he stood to his feet. Walking up to the rat slowly, he licked something from his lips that Greytooth didn't get a good glimpse of before it was gone. The warlord stood only an arm length from the rat and stared at him solemnly.

"So, you are the second to the loud one?" asked the black cat.

Though a little shaken, Greytooth stood his ground. Staring back into the cats amber eyes, he said, "Yes, I was second in command."

"Good, then I have the right rat before me. Now then rat, whats your name?" he asked.

"Greytooth."

"Well Greytooth, do you know what I do to those who oppose me?" asked the warlord as if it wasn't that hard of a question. The rat shook his head, not taking his eyes from the cats. Smiling back at the rat, Dregg said, "Well, you are about to get a lesson. My name is Dregg Ironclaw, and I rule all the lands far east of here. I treat all enemies the same as I have your friend, which includes anybody from my army that thinks they should rule instead of me. What I do to my enemies is to instill fear into them until they are no longer my enemies. But occasionally, there has to be somebeast that will get the point across for the others. Like your friend over there in the corner." he said.

Greytooth turned and looked in the corner, but instantly wished he hadn't. His horrified gaze locked onto the skeleton of his former leader, supported by a cross shaped stand. Its bones seemed to be screaming still, even after death. The skeleton stood, clean of any meat and insides; still red from the blood that had been flowing all around it mearly hours ago. Its hollow eyes stared back at Greytooth as if asking for help. The greatrat quickly turned his head away from the sight and covered his mouth, keeping himself from losing the meal he had eaten earlier.

"Now that you have seen what all my enemies look like, I give you a choice. You can choose to be loyal to your friend over there, and get yourself a spot next to him. Or you can become one of my captains and teach me all about this country of yours. What will it be...Greytooth?" asked the wildcat as he stared at Greytooth intently.

The greatrat waited a moment to clear the image of his dead leader out of his head before answering. "I...I will become one of your captains." he said quickly. The black cat smiled slightly.

"Very well. You now have control of one hundred and a score of soldiers from my army. But, before you go to your command, you must complete one task."

"Anything you ask." said Greytooth.

"You must take your friend over there and place him on the highest ground within a days walk from here. All creatures in this country will soon know and fear the name of Dregg Ironclaw."

Greytooth nodded and turned to the skeleton. Grabbing the stand that held it, he lifted it over one shoulder and carried it slowly out of the tent as if it were an overweight spear. As he crossed the camp, one of his comrades saw him in the dark. Getting up, the rat stepped over rats, stoats, and ferrets to get to the greatrat walking away from the camp.

"'Oy! Greytooth! What you got there mate?" asked the rat in a hushed voice. Greytooth said nothing, but turned and looked at the rat. The greatrat stopped when he had approached the new captain. "So, what did ol' Tinpaw have to say to ya?" he asked, still unable to make out the item that Greytooth was carrying in the dark.

Greytooth stood still holding the stand over his shoulder with both paws. Suddenly, a flash of lightning from overhead illuminated the object he was holding. The rat looked at the skeleton and his eyes widened. Stumbling backwards, he turned and ran away from Greytooth in horror, immediately recognizing the accessories the skeleton was wearing as their former leaders. Greytooth mearly sighed as large drops of rain started to fall from the sky and clean the bones of the hollow soulless skeleton.

OoOoO

Stormy skies had reached Redwall much sooner than the east. Lightning flashed and thunder clapped as heavy winds blew all the trees in Mossflower back and forth. The events for the day had to be canceled due to the rain, much to the dismay of the dibbuns. Abbess Belle stood in the doorway of the abbey building as Skipper and Mel brought the last table inside and out of the rain.

Both creatures ran inside with the oak table above their heads, shielding them from the pounding rain. They skidded to a halt as they entered the Cavern Hole and set the table down gently on the floor. A mousemaid walked up to them and handed them both towels.

"Here you are Skipper." she said as she placed a soft towel from the infirmary over his shoulder.

The large otter smiled at the pretty mouse and grabbed the towel. "What would we do without you Sister Mary?" he asked. The mousemaid smiled and threw another towel at him, this time hitting him in the head and completely blinding him.

"Oh stop it you old charmer." she said and continued her rounds around the Cavern Hole. When she came to Mel, she smiled at him and handed him a towel as well. "Thank you for helping with the tables Mel, you were very helpful." she said. Mel smiled back at her.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all...really." he said nervously. Suddenly, another mouse ran up behind Mel and jumped onto his back.

Wrapping his arms around Mel's head, the mouse said, "What took you so long Mel? I had my table in here before you even found yours!"

Mel reached up and grabbed him around the neck, then flipped the attacker onto the floor. "Knock it off Parlo!" he said roughly.

The mouse raised his hands in defense. "Wow, sorry I interrupted your chat."

Mel looked up and noticed that Mary had already gone to get more towels. He raised a clenched fist and slammed it down on the table he had just brought in, sending a loud bang across the Cavern Hole. Every creature within earshot jumped in fright as the sound echoed across the hall. Mel turned and walked away from the scene with his ears almost fuming.

Skipper turned to Parlo and glared at him. "Why did you have to go and do that when he was talkin' to Mary?" asked the burly otter.

The young mouse shrugged, much to the annoyance of Skipper. "Hey, cummon Skip'...I was just having a little fun."

Skipper shook his head and sighed. He knew why Parlo had done what he did, and didn't approve at all. But, he mearly turned and walked away.

OoOoO

**RiverFox237: **Kinda. It may not be as long as a normal Redwall novel, but I will try to make it last as long as possible.  
**Shadow's Forge: **How complex would you like me to get?  
**Willowisp: **Bwaha! You finally came! I'm glad to see you, and I'm glad you like the story. Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

And the same goes for the rest of you. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the rest o the story for that matter. Work has been exhausting me lately, but I'm still writing as much as I can! So, read and enjoy! And also, send plenty of reviews! Arigato!


	5. Spirit of the Abbey

OoO( 4 )OoO

The rain continued for days, seeming endless in its attempt to blow the red stone walls down. Wind hammered against the walls of the main building like many paws wanting inside, and unable to find an entrance. But Redwall sat calm and unmoving in the ferocious storm as if mocking its strength.

Inside the sandstone walls of the main building, creatures were either asleep in their dormitories or wandering around looking for something to do around the giant abbey. Cavern Hole glowed with warmth as the fireplace spilled light across the room, making the shadows of the chairs where creatures sat lengthen greatly. In one particular chair sat a mole with its huge digging claws relaxed on the arms of the soft arm chair. He stared into the fire as sleep began to come over him and force his eyes shut. He tried to stay awake, but his attempts were futile to say the least. As soon as his droopy eyes closed, he instantly slipped into slumber.

The mole awoke to find himself standing out on the roof of the abbey, right next to the weather vein. Common knowledge told him not to look down, but he did anyway; only seeing mist covering the abbey grounds. Although relieved he couldn't see how high he was, he still grabbed a hold of the roof and held on for dear life. Then, he noticed somebeast standing in front of him, seeming to glow with the beautiful sunrise behind them. Looking up, the mole saw a familiar figure clad in armor standing on the roof as if it were solid ground.

The mouse looked down at the mole and smiled gently, instantly calming the frantic moles nerves. Then, taking his legendary sword from its scabbard, the mouse pointed towards the rising sun and began to speak softly.

Many warriors travel far from home,  
Searching for one with the amber eyes.  
They travel sea and land unknown,  
First to come, will come from the skies.

The second will be as black as night,  
But mistake him not for an evil heart.  
Within his paws lie ferocious might,  
And in this legend will play his part.

The third will come from mighty sea,  
Not as a lonely creature, but two.  
Travelling from far to come see me,  
Together they search for home anew.

The fourth, a beast of the gallant band,  
From the mountain of fire he is born.  
Saved by friends from a faraway land,  
From the path of old this one is torn.

From across the vast ocean of green,  
And from the land of the rising sun.  
Come warriors and friends to intervene,  
Against the darkness that will come.

Martin the Warrior sheathed his sword, then began to walk towards the sun, which was now rising above Mossflower. The mole watched him go, then closed his eyes tight. When he opened them again, he was back in Cavern Hole, in the soft chair he had fallen asleep in. He quickly got to his feet and ran into the Great Hall, looking around for somebeast. When he spotted nobody, he ran as fast as his short legs could carry him across the large room and up the stairs.

Clovy was walking down the stairs leading to the Great Hall. He had appointed himself the duty of making sure the food was prepared for the morning, and making sure it tasted good enough for the other beasts. Quickly, he stepped onto the floor of the Great Hall and made for the kitchen, but didn't make it far before a small ball of velvety fur crashed into him and sent him sprawling.

The hare panicked, thinking he was being punished for attempting to raid the kitchen. "Oh no! Please don't lock me up! I wouldn't be able to survive on the food they give a chap in the confines you know! I would wither away to nothing." said the hare pleadingly.

The mole raised his paw and clamped the hares mouth shut. "Be quoiet loik! Youm be wanten to wake 'e entire abbey?" asked the mole.

Clovy looked at the mole and smiled comically. Slipping out of the moles grip, the hare stood up and dusted himself off. "Ya know Foremole, its right unsportin' of you to knock a feller over and not apologize." he said.

Foremole glared at him. "Oi surpose...but what were 'e doin' sneakin' arownd in 'e dark furr?" he asked curiously. The hare immediately looked around and acted like he didn't hear the mole.

"Anyway, were you lookin' for somethin'? Or were you just out for a jog, wot?" asked the hare.

"Oi needin' Sister Mary!" shouted the mole trying to get past the hare.

"This late?"

"Oi be visited boi Marthen 'E Wurriur! 'E tol' oi summat important!" he said as he stumbled up the stairs.

At hearing this, Clovy's ears stood strait up in surprise. "I say, you mean that fellow on the painting in there?" asked the young hare, but recieved no answer. "Poor little fellow. He must have knocked his beezer good to make him start seein' things. Oh well, he'll find Sister Wotserface and get it all fixed up." he said, then headed back towards the kitchen.

OoOoO

In the morning, everybeast was gathered in the Great Hall so that the Abbess and Sister Mary could tell them of Foremole's dream. All the inhabitants of Redwall stood packed inside the Great Hall murmering and conversing among themselves until Abbess Belle stood before them and cleared her throat. Everybeast looked up at her and the room went quiet instantly.

"Creatures of Redwall! Last night, our faithful Foremole was visited by our guardian, Martin the Warrior." she said. There was an audible gasp from the audience, but still there was silence. "Martin has told us that we will be getting a few visitors of great importance. There will be watchers placed at the walls until they arrive at the abbey, so if anybody should hear them shouting, immediately alert either Foremole, Skipper, Sister Mary, or myself." she said. A thunderous din started over the Great Hall as she finished.

Everybeast went about their chores after the meeting, leaving only the dibbuns and those with chores already finished to wander around the abbey. Mel was one such beast, who sat next to one of the windows in his dormitory, listening to the rain beat against it in rhythm. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. Looking towards the door, he answered, "Yes, who is it?"

A young male hedgehog about Mel's height opened the door and walked in. "Whats going on in here, you were thinkin' so loud I could barely think myself!" he said.

Mel looked at his friend confusedly. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I mean, you're done with your chores and haven't come with us to pops cellar. You and me was supposed to help him test this seasons cordial." he said. Mel stood to his feet and stretched.

"Sorry Balfred, I've had a lot on my mind lately." he said. The hedgehog smiled and put his friend in a headlock. "W-What are you doing?" asked the young mouse surprisedly.

Walking towards the door, Balfred dragged the mouse along with him. "You and that infirmary maid, when are you goin' to ask her to tie the knot already?" he asked sarcastically.

Mel's eyes widened, then his face turned to anger. "Does everybeast in the abbey know about that?" he shouted.

"Everybeast with ears does mate." he said. "And to tell you the truth, I think Miss Mary knows it too." he said as he dragged his friend down the stairs. Suddenly, he stopped as he felt Mel go limp. Turning, he looked at the mouse and saw a horrified expression on his face. "Whats a matter with you?" he asked.

"Please tell me your joking!" he said frantically.

Balfred let go of the mouses head and shrugged. "Don't know about that, never asked her miself." he said. Mel got to his feet and ran down the stairs in panic. Balfred watched Mel run down the stairs, then yelled after him. "'Oy! What about pops?" he shouted.

Mel stopped and turned around. "Sorry, I'll have to take a rain check." he said, then took the stairs three at a time.

"But it is raining!" shouted the hedgehog after him. But he recieved no answer as the mouse disappeared from view.

OoOoO

The travelling had been unusually easy for Cloud and the others. The rain fell strait down, not providing any resistance to the travellers. They had made good time and were now inside Mossflower Woods, sheltered from the rain by the trees above them.

As Cloud walked, he couldn't help but look back and forth through the wilderness to make sure there were no ambushes awaiting them. But the path was clear, as was the air after the heaviest part of the storm had passed them. Cloud walked in front of the others, cutting the shrubs too thick to walk through with his long bladed spear, while Zango and Liska followed. Ivan and Songcrest brought up the rear, both happy and cheerful after soaking in rainfall.

Eventually, Cloud stopped in a small clearing and turned to the others. "Do you two know this country well?" he asked.

They both nodded, but Ivan did the talking. "Not as much as you'd think. We never really been this far from the sea before." he said.

"I see. Well, it looks reasonably quiet, so I guess we can camp here." he said. Setting the pack his pack down, he turned to the woods. "You wait here. I'll go and see if the area is safe." he said. Quickly, he ran off with his spear tightly grasped in his right paw.

Ivan looked at Zango curiously. "Is he always this cautious?" he asked.

The fox looked at the otter, then nodded gravely. Then returning to the pack he was digging through, the black fox pulled out a flint, then his small sword. Turning to Ivan, he held up the two items as if he were showing him what they were.

"You want me to hold those?" asked the otter. But the fox shook his head. Taking the flint, he slammed it against the sharp blade of his sword and made several large sparks appear. The sparks vanished in an instant, but Ivan finally got what the fox was getting at. "Ah, you want me to collect firewood." said Ivan, and he got an approving nod from Zango. Stretching his limber arms, the otter walked away mumbling. "I'll get yur firewood ya great layabout." he said jokingly and walked into the woodland.

It was starting to get dark before the ferret warrior returned. He had a frantic look on his face as he ran into the camp. "Quick, we must get out of here!" he said.

The others looked at him strangely. "But we just got settled down, why do we have to leave now?" asked Songcrest.

"There are beasts in these woods that will eat us if we do not!" he said. Both foxes and the ottermaids face went from confused to surprised.

"E-Eat us?" asked the small fox. "What kind of creature would want to eat us?"

"I don't know what they are, but they are here and we...where's Ivan?" he asked suddenly. Scanning the camp, he noticed no sign of the otter.

"He went out for firewood some time ago." said the ottermaid. Cloud's face went pale under his fur. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Did you not hear me? If he is out there then those...those savages will get him!" he said pulling his spear in front of him. "Which way did he go?" he asked frantically. Zango pulled out his sword as well.

The ottermaid stood up and ran into the forest, with both foxes and the ferret trailing her. "Follow me!" she shouted, and together the warriors began tracking the otters trail.

OoOoO

Ivan woke up in a daze unlike any he had been in before. He opened his eyes slightly and saw that everything around him was blurry. Blinking, he also felt a slight pain in his head. He attempted to move his arms, but found that they were bound to his sides by something.

Opening his mouth slightly, he groaned. "Oargh...what happened?" he asked to nobeast in particular. But he was surprised to get an answer from an unfamiliar voice.

"You got a large knock on the hooter, thats what happened." said a voice very close by. "You're lucky they didn't swing any harder or else you might be short of a melon right now."

"Wha? Who's that?" asked the otter. Suddenly, he felt a sweltering heat come over him and almost suffocate him.

"The names Beovar, and I seem to be your fellow course." he said. Ivan didn't completely understand until his vision came back to him completely. He was suspended over a boiling cauldron of water with different vegetables and other nauseating things swimming around in it. The heat from earlier was only the steam rising from the surface of the water.

"Uh...I don't suppose you have a way out of here friend?" he asked the beast that he was tied back to back with.

"If I did, would I still be floating here?" asked the creature. "My patrol is too far away from here to hear my battle call, so that wouldn't do any good..."

"Wait! I have friends in the woods, maybe they can..."

"You! Waterdoggie! Closa mouth!" shouted a high pitch voice from below them. They both looked down and saw a very short unrecognizable type of vermin. It wore vines wrapped tightly all over its torso and had a mask of green and black painted onto its face, making it almost invisible in the forest.

"I say, what do you think that little doodad is?" asked the second creature. Ivan shrugged.

"Long ears! You shutta mouth afore Dafarga eat you now!" it shouted again. Both Ivan and the hare said no more until the little rodent disappeared into the crowd of almost invisible army of vermin. It looked as if the forest was alive and dancing in front of them.

"Cannibals..." said the hare. Ivan mearly nodded. "Bad luck today chap, chose the wrong day to scout the river for those vermin we were lookin for." he said.

"Don't worry, I have friends in the forest somewheres. They will come and help us." he said confidently. The hare looked around at the trees as the two spun in a slow circle while dangling from the rope.

"Well, I hope they come soon. Or there won't be much left of us to help." he said noncheerily.

OoOoO

Cloud, Zango, Liska, and Songrest had split into two parties to search for the missing otter. Liska had gone with her father Zango and went southward looking for any trace of their friend. Cloud and Songcrest searched west smong the thick trees of Mossflower.

The searching lasted for hours. But finally, Zango and his daughter had finally found the camp of small vermin. It wasn't really a camp, more like a gathering in the forest. A large cauldron sat on top of a bed of ashes. The meal for the day had been eaten and they were all now dancing and singing some strange chant around a few campfires. Zango looked at the cauldron, then noticed the two figured hanging above it on a rope.

Ivan's limbs had long before fallen asleep, as had he. But Beovar the hare stayed gallantly awake looking for a way to escape. Searching the knots that had been tied around him, he could find no weakness in their structures. Whoever had tied these knew exactly what they were doing. Finally, the hare gave up on the ropes and looked into the forest as if the answer would come to him from there. Suddenly, his ears stood strait and his eyes widened.

Elbowing the otter as gently as he could, but hard enough to wake him; the hare began to speak. "Hey old chum, theres a shadow movin' about over there." he said in a low voice. The otter shook his head awake and looked around at his surroundings.

When he saw himself still suspended in the air, he groaned. "Oh boy, and here I thought it was just a dream..." he said.

The hare elbowed him again, except harder. "Did you here me? I said theres a bally shadow moving around over there! Looks like a ghost or something of the sort." he said.

"Ah don't be rediculus. There's no such thing as ghost's." said Ivan irritatedly. But the hare persisted.

"I say, its coming closer! It almost looks like a...fox." he said.

Ivan's eyes shot wide open and he began to struggle with his bonds. "A shadow-like fox? That's Zango! He can help us out of here!" said the otter in a quiet tone.

"Are you sure? My mater told me never to trust a fox as far as I could throw one." he said. "And this one doesn't look to friendly at that, wot."

"He will help us, just tell him to get us out of here." said Ivan impatiently.

The hare snorted. "Alright..." he said before looking at the fox now standing behind the large cauldron, out of view of all the dancing vermin. "Hey, you down there. Yes, you the ghost chap. Do you think you could give us a paw with these ropes? I would be very greatful to a fine spirit such as yourself." said the hare. The fox looked up at the hare silently. "I don't think he heard me..."

"He heard you. He's a mute, so he can't respond." said the otter.

Suddenly, the fox reached up and made a drawing in the air with its fingers. The hare stared at the fox flabberghasted. "This is no time for charades! Get us out of here!" he said.

"What's he doin' over there?" asked Ivan.

"He's doin something with his bally paws, like he thinks he can draw or somethin'."

"What's it look like he's drawing?" asked the otter.

The hare watched Zango perform the charade again, then muttered, "Looks like he's drawing a pie...no, a sun...no?" he asked as Zango shook his head. Zango made the shape again, then pointed to the sky. Beovar looked up and saw the light blue sky turning a dark purple. Then he noticed something similar to the shape the fox was making. "Oh, very well then! He was drawing a fluffy cloud." he said.

Ivan thought for a moment before responding. "He's saying he is going to get our friend Cloud."

Beovar looked down at the fox, who was now nodding. "What kinda name is Cloud for a creature?"

"The kind of a hero, now quiet down before they decide to have sup' now." he said. The fox vanished like the darkness under sunlight.

OoOoO

Everybeast at Redwall was abuzz with news of visitors. After chores, most of them sat and pondered the puzzle that the great warrior had left for them, each trying to solve it and be given the reward of a large cake made in their honor by the Abbess herself.

They all sat across the abbey lawns with a copy of the poem on parchment. But the closest creatures to figuring it out were Mary and her friend Aluma, a peppy young squirrelmaid. They both sat in the gatehouse, sipping cordial and going over the lines of the poem; attempting to solve one at a time.

"Okay, it says in several lines that they will come from far away..." said the squirrelmaid.

Mary nodded and took another sip of pennycloud cordial before saying, "And the one from the sky must be a bird of some kind."

"Right, but what about the second paragraph? 'The second will be as black as night' doesn't sound too friendly to me."

"But it warns us not to mistake him for evil. He must look like evil, but has a really good heart. I wonder what kind of beast he would be." said Mary.

"Oh, I hope its a handsome dark furred squirrel! One with green eyes and has seen the world!" Aluma said hopefully. "What do you think of it?" she asked.

Mary just sighed and pulled her paws off the floor and onto the bed she was sitting on. "I don't know, I just hope its somebeast that I can relate to. I don't think that I would talk well with a bird, or two fish either. What about the fourth one?" she asked looking at her friend.

"'The fourth, a beast of the gallant band'. I'm not sure what that could mean, but it says that it was born in the mountain of fire. Could they be talking about that mountain to the west? What was it called?" she asked as she scratched her ear; trying to think of the name.

"Salamandastron." said Mary. The squirrelmaids eyes lit up.

"Thats it! Samalanderstren. Maybe its a badger lord." she said.

The mousemaid laughed at her best friends attempt to pronounce the name of the mountain. "Maybe, or maybe its a hare. Or it could be some other beast born in the mountain, like a dragon or something." she said playfully.

Aluma, though not a dibbun was still very gullible. "Really? A dragon? That would be fantastic!" she shouted. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to the gatehouse. Aluma opened the door and the Abbess walked into the room.

"So, have you figured anything else out?" she asked.

Mary smiled. "Yep!"

"Well? Who is going to give us a visit?" asked Abbess Belle curiously.

Mary grinned like a dibbun that had stolen a candied chestnut. "A bird of some sort, a black squirrel beast that has green eyes and can relate to me, two fish that are looking for a new home, and a dragon from the west." she said. The Abbess looked at her sternly.

"Now Mary..." said the Abbess. Mary had expected to get a lecture about being serious. But the Abbess smiled. "You know that dragons come from the north, not the west." she said jokingly. Mary smiled and both of them began to laugh. Aluma was left in the dark about the joke.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing young one. So, I assume you have found as much as everyone else?" she asked.

"With about half the effort too. Does that account for something?" asked Aluma jokingly.

The Abbess patted her softly. "Of course it does, both of you go and get yourselves first pick of lunch from the kitchens. You deserve it." she said humbly. Both of the maids jumped to their paws and raced each other out the door to the gatehouse and to the main abbey building. Still smiling fondly, the Abbess slipped her hands inside her habit sleeves and sighed. "Poor poor Aluma." she said, and followed them out, closing the door behind her.

OoOoO

**Riverfox237: **Yep, you were right about that part. And thanks for the good wishes and compliments, I really appreciate it. As for 'arigato', it means 'thank you' in Japanese. I speak it partially, and yes I like to brag about it. Anyway, thanks for the snack as well.  
**Willowisp: **Thanks for helping me with the story a little. And thanks for reviewing as well. I hope you liked this chapter too.

Thanks all my fans! I am working hard on Chapter 5 as you read this, now a line from Kuno.

Tatewaki Kuno: Weep not for lack of this script, for soon you shall have another dose of thy need.


	6. Escape the Flitchaye

OoO( 5 )OoO

Darkness began to cover the entire forest as the sun sank from the sky and vanished over the horizon. Birds in their nests settled after feeding their young, then fell asleep as the forests spell was casted over them. A quiet stillness lay over the woodland.

But the quietness was broken by the sound of running paws. Two creatures ran through the trees in a rush, their footpaws barely touching the ground at the speed they were running. One was a tall ferret warrior, holding a long pike over his back with a dark cloak fluttering behind him. The second was a small fox, wearing a small tunic with a rope wrapped tightly around her waist to act as a belt for her supplies. Together, they seemed like ghosts travelling in the darkness.

Finally, they arrived at the meeting spot indicated by the fox. Cloud stopped and looked around. "Zango, where are you?" he asked silently. Suddenly, the black fox melded from the shadows and appeared in front of the pair. Cloud looked at his friend and smiled. "Is Ivan alright?" he asked. The fox nodded. "Good, we need to think of a plan for their escape. I've told Songcrest to wait for me on a path we found, so she won't be in any danger." he said.

The fox nodded again, then waved for them to follow him. The ferret did as he was told and followed the fox until they came to the camp of the tiny vermin. Cloud stared in awe at the little beasts as they sat lazily around fires, preparing for dinner. The vermin closest to the again boiling pot were eyeing their next meal hungrily.

Looking up, the ferret noticed the two figures hovering above the cauldron, only an arm length above the boiling surface. Turning back to the fox, he asked. "So, do you have a plan?" Zango nodded with a confident smile. Reaching inside his cloak, he pulled out a flask of fresh water that they had gotten from the otter family. He silently poured a beaker half full, then took a drink from the flask. "So, whats this plan of yours?" asked the ferret. Setting the beaker down, he started drawing in the dirt.

Cloud looked at the drawing trying to figure out what his friend had depicted. Liska immediately knew what it was. "Its one of those tiny creatures!" she said. Cloud nodded as he noticed the...not so great resemblance. Zango nodded, then knocked the beaker over with his paw. Water sloshed from the glass and wiped the picture of the vermin clean from the ground.

The ferret smiled approvingly. "Good plan mate. Lets get to work." he said, then turned to the little fox. "I think we will be needing your belt there." he said.

"Alright, but remember to give it back." she said, then untied the rope. Taking all her supply pouches off the tightly bound rope, she handed it over.

"Thanks. You stay here and wait for us. We'll be getting out of here in a hurry, so stuff those pouches in your pack. You won't have time to put them back on your belt until we are clear away from this place." he said. Nodding, she did as suggested and slipped her pouches into the top of her pack.

Zango and Cloud walked silently towards the cauldron, still keeping out of view of the wild looking beasts.

Beovar had almost nodded off when he caught sight of the approaching pair. He only saw Cloud for a moment, but the shape of Zango had become audible enough to know he was there. "I say, your friend is back with a ferret! Is this who is supposed to rescue us?" asked the hare.

"That's Cloud. I owe him my life, so don't be makin' no rude remarks because of what he is." said Ivan roughly.

"Alright alright. If he manages to save us, he fine in my book. No need to be snippy." he said. The ferret and fox finally stopped in front of the cauldron and looked up at the two prisoners.

"We'll get you out of here quick. But as soon as we get you down, you need to run with us and keep up. Or those vermin will have us all!" said the ferret in a hushed whisper. The hare nodded, then the pair went to work. Zango took one end of the rope, and Cloud took the other. "On the count of three." he said. The fox nodded, and Cloud began to count. "One...two...three!" he said. They both took the rope ends tightly and ran on either side of the cauldron, clothslining it. The rope slid up the smooth side, but was caught on the top edge of it. They strained against the rope and the giant pot started to slowly tip over.

Then, one of the vermin looked over to take another glance at their meal, when he spotted the two. Jumping up and grabbing his sharpened wooden lance, he yelled at the top of his tiny lungs. "Intruda! Intruda! Get dem quik quik!" The others grabbed their weapons and charged at the pair. But, they didn't get far before the entire army of them was stopped by a large tidal wave. The cauldron had finally tipped over and scalding water immediately paralyzed and killed the front ranks, then severely burned the followers.

Cloud let go of the rope and pulled his spear from his back. He jumped up and severed the rope holding the two prisoners after Zango had covered the fire with plenty of earth he had dug up while waiting for Cloud and Liska. Both creatures fell some twenty feet before they landed hard on their tails. But, they ignored the pain and stood up. Beovar looked at Zango who had raised his sword.

The hare quickly closed his eyes, thinking that the fox was going to slay him. Then, he felt the ropes around him go flacid and fall off. Opening his eyes, he smiled at the friendly fox. "Thanks chum, I owe you one." he said. The fox nodded, then motioned for them to run. But the hare turned back towards the screaming vermin. "Sorry lad, but they got me saber. A chap can't go on fighting without his weapon doncha know." he said, then made a dash for them.

"There's no time! We have to run now!" he shouted, but the hare ignored him and flew like the wind towards the army. Cloud's eyes widened at the hares speed. "Well, he won't have any trouble getting away if he can run like that." he said.

Suddenly, a sharp wooden spear embedded itself in the ground right at Cloud's footpaws. He looked up and saw that the vermin at the very rear of the camp had only sustained minor burns and had recovered sufficiently. Another was about to raise his spear and throw it, but a flying stone smashed into his forehead, making him fall to the ground limply.

Both warriors turned to see Liska holding a slingshot made of the same hardened wood as Cloud's spear handle. The ferret glared at her. "I thought I told you to stay back there!" he said.

She mearly smiled and loaded another stone into the slingshot. "You're welcome." she said smartly, then let the stone fly and take out a charging vermin.

Cloud turned back to see Beovar carving a path through the tiny creatures with a glittering saber in his left paw. When he got the final stretch, he jumped into the air and flew over the rest of the small camps heads, then landed quickly on the other side. By the time the army had recovered its composure, the creatures were all gone, without a trace of where they went. Angrily, the largest of them took his small axe, although it was big to him, and swung it around injuring his own comrades.

"You letta food food gerraway! You be punished good good!" he shouted harshly.

OoOoO

When they had finally made it to the path, all four creatures had to drop to their knees in exhaustion. They sat panting as Songcrest checked on her brother to see if he was okay. Naturally, she began to make up injuries so that she could fix him up.

"Look at this! You're bruised!" she shouted.

He attempted to hold her back, but failed. "That's just dirt on me fur. Leave me be! The only medicine I need is sleep." he said.

But she pressed the matter further. "And look at these burn marks on your arm! What happened?"

"I was tied up and tried to wiggle out! Now please, let me sleep!" he shouted.

She snorted dejectedly. "Fine, if you don't want my help you just have to say so." she said, then stood up to tend to the others instead.

Cloud turned to the hare sitting next to him. After catching his breath, he started a coversation. "So, what's your name?" he asked in a friendly tone.

The hare looked back at Cloud and smiled. "Sergent Beovar Tamora Vermandala of the Long Patrol." he said still breathing heavily. Holding out his paw, he said, "What about you friend?"

Cloud smiled and shook the hares paw. "Cloud Longspear. It's good to meet you, but what is this Long Patrol?" he asked curiously.

Beovar's eyes widened considerably. "You've never heard of the famous Long Patrol?" he asked astonished.

Cloud shook his head. "And with good reason. We aren't from these lands, we just arrived about ten days ago. So there is much about this land and its creatures that I have yet to find out." he said.

"From afar eh? Well, stands to reason." he said. Cloud looked at him as if he was insulted. Beovar held up his paws in defense. "No disrespect intended friend..." he said.

The ferret looked away. "Don't worry, its not the first time we've heard it." he said.

"What do you mean?" asked the hare.

"We travelled this land for many days before we met the otter family on the coast. And in that time, we met many creatures that didn't think too highly of a ferret and two foxes in their homes. They treated us as if we had kidnapped their children, though until recently I couldn't figure out why they would treat complete strangers that way. At first I thought that they treated warriors like that, but when we ran into warriors, we were treated no differently." he said.

"This country is harsh on creatures it thinks are of an evil heart." said Beovar in a depressive manner.

Cloud nodded. "We only truly found out why they treated us like this when we found a band of roaming vermin. There were many kinds of them, including ferrets and foxes. But none of the kind that kept us out of their homes. So, it wasn't hard to piece the rest together...most ferrets and foxes in this country are not friendly and honorable, so creatures have no respect or pity for them, even if they seem good." he said.

The hare lay down on the ground and yawned. "Well, keep up saving everybeast and they will change their minds. But until then, there isn't much we can do, is there?" he asked. When he recieved no answer, he rolled over. "Well chum, I'm tuckered. I'll see you at first light." he said.

Cloud smiled and pulled his cloak off. "Here, use this." he said.

"Won't you be needing it?"

"Nah, cold never bothered me." he said, then threw the cloak to the hare.

"If you say so." Beovar took the cloak and covered his entire form with it, leaving only his footpaws and ears sticking out the top and bottom of the cloak. "Good night to all of you." he said, then began to snore loudly. Cloud too closed his eyes and went to sleep from his tiredness, letting the night air wash over him like a wave.

OoOoO

The black wildcat was in a fair mood that day. So far this country was peaceful and quiet, making it a suitable place to take over. His men were well fed from the fish from the river and many kinds of birds from the trees, as well as the occasional vegetable or fruit. The weather was great, the food was plentiful, and the horde was happy. It seemed nothing could go wrong.

He sat in his tent as his advisor Scorch gave him the list of most likely to betray him. But, he soon grew very bored and began to drift off into slumber. He found himself in a dark place, unrecognizable to him. Looking around, he noticed something moving in front of him. Preparing his metal claws, he crouched slightly to pounce the spectre incase it was hostile. But it just approached him without fear or hesitation.

OoOoO

Cloud began to walk forward into the darkness of slumber. He couldn't see exactly where he was going, but he didn't really care as long as he got out of there. Suddenly, he stopped at seeing a crouched shape in the darkness. He immediately knew what it was due to the two amber spheres that seemed to pierce him like arrows.

Glaring visciously at the dark figure, he growled, "Ironclaw! You will pay for what you did to my family and village!" Running forward, he swung his long pike horizontally, but the wildcat ducked and threw himself forward, tackling the ferret and knocking him from his paws. Cloud shoved his spear shaft up as the cats claws aimed for the kill, stopping them from stabbing through his chest. Pushing harder, he forced the lynx off him and they both began to push with their weapons, trying to pin the other and finish them off. But, Cloud was the quicker thinker at the moment.

Taking the spear shaft, he swung the end of it at Dregg's footpaws. Caught off guard, the cat tripped and landed hard on his back. Cloud raised the pike to finish the battle and swung with every ounce of rage within him. Dregg was stunned momentarily, and when he opened his eyes, he was immediately cleaved by the bladed weapon.

OoOoO

Dregg shouted in horror and jumped from his makeshift throne, grabbing Scorch by the throat and slamming him to the ground hard. The weasel went rigid with fear as Dregg's claw came within an hairs breath from his throat, with both eyes locked onto the advisor.

Dregg shook his head and took a long look at the weasel before letting him up. When he stood up, Scorch's fur was sticking up from fear. Grabbing his head, Dregg began to talk to himself. "It...It must have been a dream, but it was so real!" he said to himself.

"S-S-Sire?" said the weasel shakenly.

Dregg looked at him and glared. "Get out!" he shouted, making the terrified weasel fly out of the tent like an arrow. The wildcat sat in his chair again rubbing his temple with his paw. "Who?" he asked. "Who was that beast?"

OoOoO

**RiverFox237: **:eats pizza greedily: Hehehe, I love pizza. No! My biggest fan is leaving!...Oh well, as long as you come back. You are coming back...right::ties rope around her: Bwehehehe! Gotta hate 'em alright.  
**Willowisp: **Hehehe, then my ruse has worked. If you think the plot has been shown fair one, then you are gravely mistaken. This is only the sugar for the icing on the cake. Oh, and how should they be developed if I may ask?

Now then, back to Kuno!

Tatewaki Kuno: Oh hearken for she is a cruel beauty! Forsake me not for I am but a lowly love slave!


	7. The Long Patrol

OoO( 6 )OoO

Redwall awoke peacefully that day, early to rise and do their chores. The sun had barely made it over the horizon before the Abbess awoke and took her daily walk around the abbey. Every morning, she had the same routine of having breakfast in the kitchens; by herself if nobody was there. Then she took a walk around the walltop, staring placidly at her home with all its elegance and beauty amid the crimson light from the sun. Then, she turned to look out at the countryside of Mossflower.

The path in front of the abbey led from far north, farther than any creature there had travelled. Like a stream, it flowed through the woodland and seemed to wind its way through the trees and far to the south as well. One day...one day, she would travel from Redwall after her duties were over and see where the path ended. But, until then she was still the Abbess of Redwall and needed to keep a clear mind about where her priorities were.

She still sat watching the rising sun when Foremole approached cheerily. "Good sunrois Missum Belle?" asked the kindly mole.

She smiled and looked back at him. He wore a habit the color of green leaves and a smile that would melt any heart instantly. But, he had apparently forgotten to take his sleeping cap off, for it sat perched on his head like an owl on a branch. She laughed to herself and began to speak. "Well hello Foremole, what are you doing up so early?" she asked politely.

"Oi coomed to relieve 'e wall watcher beast. Be you'm comin' oop yur every mornin' it be luverly?" he asked.

"Yes, I do." she said. "I love watching the sunrise, and I love watching all of Mossflower wake in the morning. It gives me such peace." she said.

"Oi'm sure twould marm. No place be more bootiful than Mossflower Woods...'ceptin o' course yon abbey." he said. Then, seeing her expression change from a smile to a look of longing, he changed the subject. "By 'e way, what you'm thinkin' abowt moi poem oi got from 'e wurrier?" he asked.

"To tell you the truth Foremole, I can't really say. The first seems simple, 'The first to come will come from the sky,' is likely to be a bird, but Martin never mentioned wings or feathers. So, it could be something else."

"If'n you'm don't moind moi arskin', what other koind of beast be coomin from 'e skoi?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, thats why I said it was likely that it was a bird. But, as for the others, I'm stumped. Mary didn't get much else out of it either, unless you would believe that we are getting visited by a black squirrel, two fish, and a dragon." she said jokingly.

Foremoles face wrinkled into a smile. "Hurrhurrhurr! Yon Mary be a skwirly one herself, no?" he asked. Abbess Belle laughed at her friends comment. "Don't be tellin' nobeast oi sed that..." he whispered.

"Don't worry friend, your secrets safe with me." she said. "Come, lets go get breakfast ready for the others. The wall watchers are all sleeping anyway." Foremole nodded and together they descended the wall steps and headed for the kitchens of the abbey.

OoOoO

Cloud shuffled in his sleep. He turned over, only to feel a sharp pain in his chin. Opening his eyes, his vision was slightly blurred do to the daylight, but quickly his eyes adjusted, showing what was prodding his chin. It was the blade of a long saber. He stared up the blade and saw a hare scowling back at him.

Cloud's pike had been removed from his possession and he lie on the ground helpless. Like Beovar, the hare wore a military uniform covered in many shining metals and pins from valant acts in battles of the past. But, this hare was older and wiser. And just by looking at the beast, Cloud could tell he was far more deadly as well.

"Cap'n! We found Sergeant Beovar under this chaps cloak." said another hare. Cloud shifted his eyes and saw almost ten other hares withweapons to the throats of his friends as well.

The Captain turned back to Cloud. "What did you do to my officer?" he asked sternly.

"We did nothing to Beovar. We...Agh!" shouted the ferret as the tip of the sword dug into his skin, making blood trickle down onto his throat.

"You dare use his name after killing him! Disgrace! Stand up you scum!" he shouted. Cloud stood, and his weapon was handed to him by two hairmaids. "Now that you are armed, try fighting a beast that can defend himself." Cloud glared at the hare, which was the only thing the Captain needed to see to start the fight.

Charging forward, the hare thrust his blade forward. Cloud smacked it to the side with his spear haft, but caught an unexpected blow from the hares rocket-like footpaws. He went sailing backwards and hit the dirt hard, sending the wind flying from his lungs. Gasping for air, he quickly got up and watched as the rest of the hares watched as well. The Captain slashed at Cloud several times, and once hit Cloud across his left paw leaving a deep gash. But Cloud countered by thrusting the spearbutt into the hares chest. The blow landed with a loud thud and the beast gasped loudly as pain lanced through his chest.

The Captain was then taken off his paws as the spear shaft swept and knocked his footpaws out from under him. Cloud raised the spear and thrust downward, but the end only hit dirt as the warrior rolled out of the way.

Beovar yawned under Cloud's cloak and sat up. The cloak fell from him as the twin hare maids that held Cloud's weapon before gasped in shock. Beovar looked up at them surprisedly. "I say, Beatrix! Amavira! What are you two doing here?" he asked.

All the hares turned at looked at the Sergeant, including the Captain. "Beovar? Aren't you dead?" asked the Captain.

"Well, if I am bally konked, I'm in the wrong place. There's supposed to be food here..."

"Then, why are you sleeping with these vermin?" he asked.

"No disrespect intended Captain, but watch who you call vermin. These are my friends." said Beovar.

"Friends?" asked one of the maids.

"Yes, they saved me life last night. If it weren't for them, I would be vermin chowder for sure." he said. "I was out scouting when the Flitcheye caught me by surprise." he said standing to his paws.

The Captain was speechless. Turning back to Cloud, he scratched his ear. "Well, I guess I owe you an apology then..."

Cloud raised his paw, stopping the Captain in his tracks. "No apology required, but I could use something to help stop this..." he said holding his other paw over the wound.

"Amavira, wrap this chap up quick-like!" he snapped. The pretty haremaid instantly walked over and started to dress Cloud's injury. "You wouldn't mind telling us what happened...would you Sergeant?" he asked.

"As long as we get some vittles in the old tum. Can't be lettin' a prisoner of war starve now, wot?" he said with a grin.

The Captain sighed. "Indeed. Lancefer, get him some trail rations, that'll hold him over for a while."

Another hare, slightly taller than Liska but shorter than the other hares, grabbed a pack and started to rummage through it. Pulling out a small loaf of stale bread and a flask of water, then handed them to the grounded hare.

"Not very generous ol' friend. How about some..."

"You will eat that and report what happened last night." said the Captain sternly. Beovar nibbled the loaf huffily, then took a drink of water. After finishing the measly meal, he began to tell the story.

"Well, I was scoutin' out along the river cause I had caught signs of vermin tracks. Then, somethin' knocked me clear into next season. I woke up and was tied to a stake by those bloody mongrels, the Flitcheye. After a while, they brought in this otter chap that they had layed out as well and tied us together to hang over their bally dinner pot." he said. The Captain and the others listened intently, waiting to hear about the ferret and foxes part. "So the otter...Ivan was his name, wakes up and says that he has friends in the forest. So here comes this shady lookin' fox and he says...well, implies that he's goin' to go get his friend the ferret over there. They both come back in a short time and spill the pot of boiling water over onto the blighters heads, and help us escape."

"So, they helped you to escape the Flitcheye and took out some of the ranks as well?" he asked. Beovar nodded and the Captain stood. "Hmm...it seems I have misjudged you friends. I hope you accept my apologies." he said turning to the ferret and foxes.

"Don't worry about it, we are used to it." he said. Zango and Liska nodded. "My name is Cloud Longspear, this is Zango and his daughter Liska. The two otters are our good friends, Ivan and Songcrest." he said.

The Captain stood up strait and shouted, "'Tennnshun! Long Patrol! Introduce yourselves to these beasts after my call!" At this he saluted. "Captain Tenneal Fornsworth at ya service!" he shouted.

A large hare next to him that was literally covered in weapons saluted as well. "Jaoford Rocklar! Weapon collector of the Long Patrol!" he shouted.

The twins came next. "Beatrix Fornsworth! Long Patrol runner!" she shouted.

The second one saluted, then shouted, "Amavira Fornsworth! First class healer and cook for the Long Patrol!"

The shortest hare stepped forward. "Lancefer Delvaron! Second runner of the Long Patrol!"

Another hare the color of autumn stepped forward and saluted. "Viggo Fengar! Camoflauge and reconnosaince expert of the Long Patrol!"

A beautiful haremaid stepped forward and saluted with her spear. "Wendora Fleetstar! Veteran warrior and lance fighter for the Long Patrol!"

Beovar stepped forward and saluted. "Sergeant Beovar Tamora Vermandala at ya service chaps." he said.

The last hare stepped forward. He saluted and shouted out, "Josiah Mizpaw Crowell! Expert tracker and forager for the Long Patrol!"

Cloud was astounded by the show of autority that the hare captain had demonstrated. Before, he was ignorant about the Long Patrol, thinking them a band of roving do-gooders. But he was wrong, these beasts were not only trained in fighting and forest ways, but they had one thing very few creatures he knew were born with. Honor.

Captain Tenneal finally shouted, "At ease!" And all the hares seemed to shrink. When they were doing the roll call, they stood strait up with their long slender ears stiff in the air like two battle flags. But now, they were more relaxed. Smiling at Cloud, the Captain winked. "So, what do ya think of that Longspear?" he asked.

Cloud was still in semi-shock when the Captain had dismissed the patrol, but hearing his name brought him back to reality. "That was amazing! I've never seen anything like it..." he said.

The hare named Wendora walked forward with a grin. "Aye, thats the Long Patrol for ya. We're the fighten hares of Salamandastron."

As soon as they heard the name, Cloud, Zango, and Liska all shivered. The name, whatever it was, seemed so mythical to them. "What is Sala...Sala..."

Beovar winked at the small fox. "Salamandastron. Its the great fire mountain by the shore, ruled by the Badger Lady Faye Moonblade. She is the fiercest warrior in the entire Mossflower Country." he said proudly.

Cloud raised a paw, "Wait, if you are from this fire mountain, then what are you doing all the way over here in midland?" he asked.

"Searching lad." said Tenneal. "We got word that some new vermin horde was rompin' around Mossflower. We came to see if the rumor about it was true. But so far, our search has been fruitless." he said.

Cloud and Zango's gaze darkened. For a moment, they looked as if they had just gone into a trance, but Cloud began to speak in a completely different tone than before. "It's true." he said.

Taken aback, the Captain raised his eyebrows. "Pardon?"

"Its true." he said looking up at the hare. "This horde you've heard of is the band of Dregg Ironclaw."

"How do you know this?" asked Beovar.

"We are chasing him as well. Me and my friend here have a little score to settle with that wildcat." he said darkly.

The entire Long Patrol gasped in shock. "A wildcat you say?" asked Beatrix. Both Cloud and Zango nodded.

"Hmmm, this is more serious than I thought." said the Captain. He looked up at the ferret questioningly. "Would you happen to know how many this wildcat has behind him?"

"His original number was around one thousand. But, he left half of his army behind in our land to keep it occupied and controlled until he got back. But you don't have to worry about them anymore." he said.

The Captain nodded. "Then that leaves around five hundred left. We have to inform Lady Faye of this news." he said.

"Can we ask a favor?" asked Cloud. The Captain nodded. "Where is Redwall Abbey?"

"Oh, is that all?" he asked. Turning, he pointed north. "Just follow this path north. You should be there in about a days march." he said.

Cloud bowed his head. "Thank you friend. I hope we meet again someday."

"Likewise." said the Captain.

"Permission to speak sir!" shouted Beovar. The Captain was startled, but mearly nodded. "I would like to request accompanying Cloud and the others to Redwall sir!" he said.

"Absolutely not! We need every hare available if we are going to fight off an army of vermin. Request denied." he said without hesitation.

But Beovar persisted. "Sir! If the vermin horde should find out about Redwall, then they will surely attempt what every other vermin who has layed eyes on Redwall has tried to do. They will attempt to conquer the abbey and take the woodlanders into slavery, if not kill them." he said. Captain Tenneal thought about this for a moment before nodding.

"Continue..."

"I think that somebeast should be stationed at Redwall incase such an occurance happens sir. So that the said beast may report to Salamandastron with the news of the hordes location."

"And Lady Faye can send help as soon as possible..." said the Captain.

"Aye sir!" shouted Beovar.

The Captain mulled this around in his head for a moment before looking up. "Very well Sergeant. You are now on dispatch to Redwall. You will guide these beasts there and report to Salamandastron immediately with any news of the vermins wherabouts." he said. "Off you go then. Good luck Sergeant."

Beovar bowed his head slightly then saluted. "Aye sir! Good luck to you as well sir!" he said. Then the Long Patrol left after saying goodbye to Cloud and the others. As soon as the hare squad was out of sight, Beovar shrank. "Good grief! I must have been mad!" he said.

Cloud and Zango looked at him oddly. "What do you mean?" asked the ferret.

"Hounding the Captain like that...if the cause had been any less serious, he would have my tail as a badge!"

Cloud smirked. "A harsh leader huh? I've known a few in my day." he said. "Well, lets get going to Redwall. We still have a days travel before we arrive." he said. All of the others gathered their things from the camp and began to walk along the path.

OoOoO

Farther down the path, Redwall sat happily re-preparing the festival events. They had already had a feast on the day of the original festival, but the festivities had to be called off due to the rain. Renewed excitement ran amuk in the abbey as the Skipper and his team of moles and other beasts set the talent show stage again.

Abbess Belle no longer had to lead the activity, and instead occupied herself with playing with the dibbuns on the wall stairs. She had been a troupe actor in her younger days (though she was still very young for an abbess) and was marvelous with magic tricks. She raised her hands in the air to show that she was not hiding anything in them, then reached down quickly and pulled a candied chestnut out from behind a baby squirrels ear. She smiled at the look of shock and excitement that spread across their faces. The baby squirrel grabbed the sweet and started nibbling on it happily, leaving the rest of the dibbuns to crowd around Belle and demand the trick be tried on them.

But, what she hadn't noticed was that two dibbuns, especially mischievous in their antics, had gone up the wallstairs and now dueled each other with sticks on the ramparts. A baby mouse and a baby squirrel clacked sticks back and forth attempting to outdo the other.

"Ha, you fink you can beat me Martin? I be Gonff da mousey thief!" shouted the baby mouse.

"I Martin am strongest of all warriors! You not beat me in a million bajillion seasons you pie snatcher!" shouted the squirrel. They dueled on, unaware of the eyes watching them from the forest below.

"What you thinkin' mate?" asked a fox next to the first one.

The other fox, who had an eye missing, smiled cruelly. "Hand me your sling Bletch, lets see if my aims is as good as it used to be." he said. The second fox obeyed and the first grabbed the stone handed to him. "Now, take yur cloak out there and catch this little beauty in it." he said. Not taking his eyes off the two dibbuns, the fox began to swing the weapon in circles making it blur like a whirlwind. When Bletch gave him the thumbs up, he hurled the stone and it smacked into the squirrel babes footpaw with a loud _CRACK! _

The squirrel babe instantly dropped his stick and wailed in pain. Holding his footpaw, he lost his balance and fell from the wall landing directly in the evil foxes cloak. Bletch quickly wrapped the babe up and ran for the cover of the forest, knowing that the squirrels crying was bound to attract a lot of attention from the abbey.

Abbess Belle had heard the cry and ran up the stairs to see the little mousebabe crying. She swept him up in her paws and comforted him. "Whats the matter Surry?" she asked worriedly.

The mousebabe sobbed again and pointed at the stone laying on the walltop. "Rock fly and knock Azlu offa wall!" he shouted. The Abbess froze when she heard this. Slowly, she looked over the wall ramparts to see two foxes laughing and running wildly with a little bundle into the forest. She felt every ounce of energy drain out of her as the foxes ran away. She would have collapsed had Skipper not run up behind her and catch her before she hit the stone.

Looking at what she had seen, he saw two orange and white tails vanish into Mossflower. Growling, he picked the Abbess, with Surry still in her arms and carried them both down the wall. "Blasted vermin, always pickin' a fight. Well, this time...they got one." he said visciously as he returned to the abbey building, followed by all the dwellers still outside.


	8. Arrival at the Abbey

OoO( 7 )OoO

"We must act now! If we let them keep him for much longer, there is no telling what will happen!" shouted the cellarhog Danpin. His spikes russled as he shouted across the Great Hall of the abbey. "We can't sit here and talk about doin' things peacefully! Those foxes will never return the babe even if we do work out a deal!"

"I disagree, if we just offer them what they want then they have no reason to keep him." said a timid mouse.

"Nobeast asked you Mirvan, you've never dealt with that kind of scum before. If we buckle and propose a deal, they will grab the loot and the dibbun again and force us to give them more! I've seen it a hundred times!" shouted the hedgehog.

Skipper stood up. "I agree with Danpin. We can't just give them what they want because they are evil through and through. No matter how much we give them, it will never be enough."

An uproar arose among the others at the table at the Skippers words. "So what do you propose we do, just leave him with those foxes?"

"Unthinkable! They will surely turn him into a slave, or worse! We can't just leave him!" shouted a vole.

Other beasts began to spew forth their comments as well until the entire Great Hall was filled with thunderous voices. Skipper jumped onto his seat and slammed his rudder-like tail onto the table, instantly making everybeast jump in fright. "We don't even know if they want to make an offer! They could just be working with a slave driver! If we wait here thinking they are going to make a deal, then we could be just sitting while they get farther away by the moment!" cried the otter.

The Abbess nodded. "What do you propose we do Skipper?" she asked.

Skipper calmed down a bit after knowing that the Abbess was going to hear him out. "I suggest you send out a search party consisting of anybeast strong enough and willing to help take those foxes down. Me and Danpin can lead the excursion, anybody else who wants to help, can. But we need to act now before those foxes get too far away to track!" he said.

Danpin stood and said, "I agree with Skipper. Let us lead this so we can get that liddle squirrel back in one healthy piece. If we wait, or do otherwise, it might be too late."

Thinking for a moment, the Abbess finally sighed, then nodded. "Alright. I shall let you pick those who you wish to take with you." she said. Skipper nodded and stood up again.

"Anybeast wishin' to help out with the search, meet me out in the Abbey grounds in front of the gatehouse." he said, then he turned and walked out to the open grounds. Following his lead, almost two score beasts walked out after him and marched to the gatehouse.

OoOoO

Two and a half score abbey dwellers stood single file in front of the main abbey gate, waiting to be put to work by Skipper. The otter paced up and down the lines of beasts, selecting the ones he saw fit by placing a paw on their shoulders. Then, he stopped when he saw a particular face in the crowd.

"Mary? What are you doin' here?" he asked her confusedly.

She looked at him strangely. "The same reason every other beast is here, including yourself." she said sharply. "To get Azlu home safe and sound."

Skipper smiled and nodded. "Aye, but don't you think you should leave that to more able beasts?"

"What does that mean? Do you think I can't do it?" Mary's face turned from calm to furious. "Do you think I can't handle myself out in the wild? Just a pretty mousemaid, only to be cooking and cleaning! Is that it?" she asked.

Skipper backed up slightly at the mood change. "I didn't say none of that! I was just askin' if you think you can handle it, thats all." he said. She snorted and set her eyes forward again. "Alright, you can come. But if any danger rears its head, I want you back in the abbey immediately." he said. She looked at him a moment before saluting and stepping into the line of helpers.

OoOoO

Cloud and the others had made fair time by taking the hardened dirt path. They could now see the abbey building and were all awed by its massive beauty in the light of the sun. Liska couldn't even take her eyes off of the sandstone walls, and almost ran directly into her father when he stopped.

Cloud, Zango, Ivan, and Songcrest all stopped in their tracks when they heard a muffled screaming.

"What do you think that was?" asked Songcrest worriedly.

Ivan stared into the woods where the sound had come from. "I don't know fir sure, but it sounded like somebeast screamin'." he said.

Cloud looked at the two otters and grabbed his spear. "Do you think we should check it out?" he asked.

Both otters nodded. "It would be best if we did. Could be somebeast in trouble." said Ivan. "Me and Zango can check it out. You and Songcrest stay here. We will scout it out and if its anything we can't handle, then we will come back." he said.

Cloud looked a little skepticle at first, but finally agreed. "Alright, but if it looks like there are too many, or if the danger is too great, then come back here immediately." he said. The otter and the fox nodded, then took off into the woods. Cloud watched them go, then turned to Songcrest and Liska. "Well, looks like we've got the hardest job of all. Just sitting and waiting." he said.

Zango had to keep at a slow pace to let Ivan stay even with him. His usual wind-like pace would have left the otter in the black foxes dust. Together they travelled in the direction which they thought the scream had come, listening closely should another one occur. Suddenly, another was heard only a short way in front of them. Zango stopped and held his arm out so Ivan didn't go any furthur either.

Turning to Ivan, Zango thrust a claw into his own chest, then pointed in the direction of the scream. Ivan nodded, and the fox was off. Like his name, he quickly flew from one tree to another without a sound nor trace that he had even been there. Finally, the fox stopped when he smelled burning wood. He had his back against an oak tree, listening to the rambling of two creatures on the other side. Slowly, he looked around the tree and saw two foxes sitting in front of a small cooking fire with a wriggling cloak next to them.

OoOoO

Another scream issued from the cloak and the fox with the missing eye glared at it. "I said shut up you little welp! Its been over 'arf a day and he's still at it!" he shouted and slapped both paws over his ears. "I don't know how much more of this I can take!" he said to his partner.

Bletch looked at the cloak, then back at the other fox. "Why not just knock 'im out good Riveye?" he asked.

"'Cause, I don't think the abbey bumpkins would appreciate me conkin' 'im over the head, thats why. If they find out I've done that, they'll send an army after me." he said glaring at the fox opposite of him. Bletch shrugged.

"Then what can we do?" asked Bletch.

Riveye closed his eye and sighed as the squirrel babe let out another scream. "Nothin' we can do mate, it comes with the job. But think, when this is all over, we'll both be rich from the treasure thats inside that abbey buildin'." he said. Bletch smiled greedily and began to rub his paws together.

"I like the sound o' that." he said. They sat a moment in silence before the rustling of a bush in the brush to their right alerted both of them. Grabbing his sling, Bletch hurled a stone in the direction and heard an immediate response.

"Argh!" yelled the gruff voice. Both foxes rose, weapons drawn and began to jog over to the bush. Slowly they pushed the shrub aside. In an instant, Bletch went down with a slingblow to his nose and the black fox tackled Riveye from behind. Ivan sprung forward and shoulder tackled Bletch, sending him to the ground as Zango wrestled with the other, managing to lock both of the beasts paws behind his head.

After a moment, both Riveye and his cronie where subdued by the strength of the two powerful beasts. Ivan held Bletch to the ground with his footpaw on the back of the foxes neck. Bletch struggled and whined as his captor held him. "What did we ever do to you? We never meant no harm to the little feller...Yow!" he shouted as Ivan yanked his tail.

"Quiet you!" shouted the otter. Turning to Riveye, he said, "Get that cloak open now!"

Zango let go of the full nelson he had the fox in and drew his short sword. He put the blade into Riveye's back, forcing him towards the cloak, but holding the fox's cloak incase he tried to make a dash for it. Slowly, the one eyed fox crawled over and untied the cloak and revealed a tied up baby squirrel. The squirrel saw the fox and quickly kicked out, landing a blow right to the foxes good eye.

"Yarrr! 'E got me in the good'n!" he shouted. Quickly, he grabbed a dagger at his side and went to stab the dibbun, but Zango's blade was across his throat like a snake, just inches from sinking its teeth into the fur.

"Now cut the little one loose." said Ivan roughly as he pulled away Bletch's sling. Riveye slowly reached over and cut the rope holding Azlu. As soon as the baby squirrel was loose, he attacked Riveye ferociously. Jumping on the fox's back, he grabbed both ears and jerked on them nearly pulling them off. Riveye dropped to the ground and rolled around in an attempt to get the squirrelbabe off, but the tiny creature responded by sinking his teeth into the fox's shoulder. Ivan had to hold back his laughter as Zango pryed the little beast off of Riveye's back.

As Zango held him, Azlu struggled to get at the fox. "Big mean floskers! I get you for makin' me tied up!" he shouted. Ivan laughed out loud at the antics of the baby squirrel.

But, his laugh quickly turned into a leer as he looked at Riveye who was glaring at the dibbun. "Eyes...er, eye over here fox." he said, and Riveye shifted his gaze to the otter. "What were you doin' with that squirrel babe?" he asked. "And don't be tryin' to tell no lies, cause I'll make ya into a cloak if I find out you are."

The fox gulped. "We...er...saw the little'n fall from the wall at the abbey. So we...er...brought 'im back here to our camp so he could heal." he said.

"Why was he tied up?" asked Ivan visciously.

"'E kept kickin' and screamin', we had to do sumthin' or he would have slain us both!" shouted Riveye as he threw himself on the ground. "Please spare me!"

"You mean _us_ right?" asked Bletch pleadingly.

Ivan snorted and looked at Zango. "What do you think mate? Should we spare 'em?" he asked winking at the black fox. Zango replied with an evil grin, then slashed a low hanging limb off a tree with his short sword. Both foxes moaned as Ivan smiled.

"You letta Azlu at 'em! I bonk der ears good!" shouted the tiny figure now standing next to Zango.

"I'm sure ya would give 'em somethin' to remember you by, but now we have to get you back to Redwall. That is where you came from isn't it?" asked the otter. The baby squirrel smiled and nodded his head heavily.

"Yep yep yep! I from Re'wall." he said.

Zango smiled and patted the squirrelbabe's head. Ivan turned back to the foxes and glared. "You two!" he shouted, and both beasts jumped in fright. "Get out of here before I let that little ruffian loose on ya again!" he shouted. Both foxes gathered their cloaks and bolted out of sight. Turning back to Zango, Ivan smiled. "Well, lets get back to the others." he said. The fox nodded and they both walked with a new companion towards the dirt path.

OoOoO

Back at Redwall, Skipper had given everybeast a makeshift weapon, should they need it. He held a long ash flag staff while Danpin stood next to him wielding a large bung hammer from the cellars. Both stood before the small army of Redwallers, staring at them all stone faced. Skipper stepped forward and began to speak.

"One of our babes from the abbey has been taken by the scum of Mossflower. Two foxes were seen carrying Azlu, Jussaru's son, off into the woods. We are here to search out and bring Azlu home in one piece. I will be taking half of you into the northern part of the forest. Danpin will be taking the rest to the south. We will search the lands from dawn til dusk if we have to...what is it Mary?" asked Skipper as Mary raised her paw into the air.

"Skipper...I hear singing..." she said.

Skipper looked at her, then Danpin. The hedgehog shrugged and they both listened closely. The voice was familiar and high pitched.

"Re'wall Re'wall, Re'wall is my home!  
Re'wall Re'wall, the only place I known!  
Re'wall Re'wall, the abbey where I come from!  
Re'wall Re'wall, Re'wall here I come!"

They could here it getting closer and closer as they stared down the path. Suddenly, to Skipper's horror, Azlu came over the hill on a black foxes shoulders with a ferret walking next to him. Skipper raised his flag staff and pointed it at the travellers. "Drop the babe you scumface!" he shouted.

Azlu slapped both paws over his mouth. "Skipper got bad mouth!" he shouted, slightly stifled. Zango looked up at the babe and picked him off his shoulders. Setting the squirrel babe down, he backed off and Azlu went running towards the abbey. "Momma Momma! Moonflosker rescue I!" he shouted.

Jussaru, a sturdy built female squirrel stepped from the army and grabbed her son by his underarms and lifted him off the ground, hugging him tightly. "Azlu! You're okay!" she shouted, then bagan shaking him roughly. "What did I tell you about playing on the walltop without an older beast watching you! If it wasn't for this...Moonflosker?" she asked staring back down the path. Azlu stared up at the sky, dizzy after his mothers episode.

Zango bowed low before standing next to Cloud again. "That vermin rescued you?" asked Skipper confusedly.

"Moonflosker not vermin! He and Skipperbeast save Azlu!" shouted the tiny squirrel, almost offended that Skipper had called Zango a vermin.

Skipper scratched his head. "Er, Skipperbeast?" he asked.

"Barklay you ol' ruddertail! This is where you been campin' out at!" shouted Ivan as he ran over and tackled the Skipper.

The older otter stared at Ivan for a moment before a giant smile creased his aging face. "Ivan! Ivan the liddle riverpup! Las' time I saw you you was learnin' to swim!" he shouted as they both attempted to get the other to submit to a bearhug.

"Uncle Barklay!" said Songcrest suprisedly as she followed Ivan. Skipper looked at her and dropped Ivan onto the ground, leaving him gasping for air.

"Songcrest? Is that you ya liddle beauty?" he asked. The reunited otters hugged and kissed welcomes to each other. Then, the attention was back on the other travelers.

Beovar stood right next to Cloud, with Zango on his other side and Liska hiding behind her fathers cloak. Slowly, the hare leaned over and whispered to Cloud. "Seems there a bit iffy about lettin' you inside." he said.

Cloud nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised." he said back. Suddenly, the crowd of Redwaller's parted and allowed a small sturdy mouse wearing a long red robe, the same color as the abbey itself. She stepped gracefully forward, planting each paw with precision making it seem as if she was gliding across the ground. Then, she halted.

"You are the beasts that saved Azlu from the other foxes?" she asked. All three nodded and the mouse turned to the two otters. "Is this true?"

"Aye marm. We heard the liddle'n cryin', so we went and nicked two scruffy foxes over their slimy heads. They'll be long gone by now." said Ivan, now staring at his friends.

The mouse turned back to the three creatures and stared at them for a moment. Then, what she did almost made Cloud gasp in disbelief. The mouse bent low to the ground and said, "We here at Redwall thank you for saving our little one."

Zango, as always, was speechless so Cloud spoke for both of them. "Er...no thanks necissary ma'am. 'Twas a pleasure." he said nervously.

OoOoO

Back in the Great Hall of Redwall, the meeting started again. Everybody from the former meeting was there, including Ivan, Songcrest and Beovar, and were debating fiercely over whether the travellers should be allowed to stay inside the abbey walls.

Danpin stood up as usual and bagan speaking. "'Tis my opinion that they should be given a chance to stay here at the abbey. They did us a great deed by sendin' those foxes packin' and bringin' the babe back." he said.

Skipper stood and announced his opinion afterwards. "I agree. My niece and nephew here say that these are good and honest creatures. They saved my nephews life from the blasted cannibal rodents runnin' around the woods as well."

A much older hedgehog stood up with a cane in his left paw and smacked the table top with it. "They are still vermin. No matter how nice they may seem, all vermin will always be vermin and there is nothing anybeast can do to change that. They may seem nice and kind, but how do we know that they aren't in cahoots with those other foxes?" he asked.

Ivan stood and glared at the elder fiercely. "Impossible!" he shouted. Everybody in the Great Hall stared at him.

"You say what you want, but that ferret and fox aren't to be trusted! Besides, how do we know you didn't help them with their little scheme to get into the abbey?" asked the older hedgehog.

This time, Skipper glared at the beast. "Watch your tongue Ruddik, thats my nephew your talkin' about!" he shouted.

"Quiet!" shouted a voice from the head of the table. Everybeast stared in the direction and saw the Abbess standing at her full height with both paws placed on the table in front of her. "Ruddik, calm down. You too Skipper." she said. Both creatures looked at each other, then sat down bad temperdly. "Now...Ivan is it? Please explain to us why it is impossible that they might have been in with the other foxes." she said.

Ivan looked around at the faces of other creatures staring at him. Clearing his throat, he spoke loud and clear. "Me and my sister here come from an otter cave on the eastern coast. Our entire family, aside from the elders live in this cave. Before we met the creatures you are holding in confines, we were attacked by a band of pirates. My friends out there came along and helped save the lives of many otters that day and asked for no reward in turn for the deed." he said.

"But what does that have to do with..."

"Ruddik, if you interupt again, you will be removed from this argument!" shouted the Abbess. The entire Great Hall went quiet, for they had never seen their calm and collected Abbess show such a fierce disposition before. Turning to Ivan again, she said, "Continue."

Nodding, the otter continued. "As I was sayin'. Afterwards, we invited them in for supper and they stayed the night until the next mornin'. Then me and my sister left to help them travel across this unknown country." he said.

The Abbess gasped. "What do you mean by unknown country?" she asked.

The otter scratched his head. "Well, to them it is unknown. They said they was from another land across the ocean." he said. The entire Great Hall gasped when they heard these words. Suddenly, the Abbess began saying something.

"Many warriors travel far from home,  
They travel sea and land unknown..."

"Er...if ya don't mind me askin' marm, what exactly does that mean?" asked Ivan as she recited a few of the lines from the dream.

She turned and looked at Skipper and Danpin. "Release those beasts immediately!" she shouted. Both beasts didn't need to be told twice. They got up from their seats and ran for the door to the Great Hall, quickly departing.

OoOoO

Cloud, Zango, and Liska sat in one of the dormitories inside the abbey, contemplating what had just happened. Cloud sat on the bed while Zango took advantage of an overstuffed armchair. Liska was fishing around in the foodpacks for something to eat.

The ferret warrior sat with an elbow on his knee and his chin in his paw. "Hmmm...awefully nice of them to lead us up here and lock us up after inviting us in." he said sourly. He looked up and noticed Zango with his eyes half closed, snoring in the chair. He laughed at his friends laziness, when a sudden commotion sounded outside. There was a jingling of keys as somebeast collided with the door guard, then a scrambilng of paws as both beasts got up. Cloud listened closely, when suddenly the door flew open and Skipper, Danpin, and a mouse with a bucket on his head rubbing an injured arm stood in the doorway.

"Mates, its my pleasure to invite you..."

"Our." interrupted Danpin.

Skipper nodded. "Its _our_ pleasure, to invite you all, to Redwall Abbey."

OoOoO

**Riverfox237: **Er...I'm a guy...Anyway, here is the next chap. Hope you like it. And just so everyone knows, I am going to be putting these up much more often now. So keep checking!  
**Bob Stage: **Glad you like the story.

Thank to all of my fans for hanging in there with me, I feel so bad for making you wait this long for the next chap, so I am speeding things up at home to make more chaps. Hope to see more reviews!


	9. Freedom to Roam

This is a chapter written in hoping that my fans out there still look forward to more of my chapters. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

OoO( 8 )OoO

In the depths of Mossflower, Shinrah walked along slowly with the squirrelmaid on his back. Long days had passed since their encounter with the vermin camp. After seeing them, it took much persuasion from the squirrel to prevent him from attacking the camp, despite the odds. He sulked as he walked along the grassy floor of the forest.

"Willow..." he said.

The squirrel shook out of her daydream. She had been riding along for almost three days with only the terror wolf as her company, and the warm sunlight had made her drowsy. But she quickly awoke and looked down at her leader. "Yes?" she asked.

"When am I supposed to give the signal?" he asked.

The squirrel scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm...give it one more day. We should be far enough away from the horde that they won't be able to track us. Then you can warn the others." she said.

The wolf snorted at having to wait, but saw the wisdom in his partners comment. "I see." he said, then began trotting faster towards the red sandstone abbey on the horizon.

OoOoO

Everybeast in the abbey was excited at the arrival of the new warriors, especially the dibbuns. After the foxes and ferret were permitted to roam the abbey grounds, anywhere they went, they were swamped by the abbeybabes. They had to literally run from an army of tiny tyrants no matter where they went.

Eventually, Cloud managed to get some peace and quiet in the gatehouse in the company of Skipper and the gatekeeper, an old mouse named Tantel. Heaving in heavy gulps of air, Cloud lay on his back across the floor.

Tantel laughed at the ferret. "I see you have met the Dibbuns." he said.

Cloud let out a small laugh through his heavy breathing. "Those are supposed to be babes? You should have them as your army, they could scare off anybeast wanting to cause trouble." he said.

Skipper laughed merrily at the ferrets comment. "Aye, that they could." he said. Then, Tantel interrupted their laughter.

"Umm...excuse me..." he said.

The warrior looked up and looked at the mouse. "Yes?"

Looking at the floor, the gatekeeper mumbled, "Well, you see..." he said.

"Cummon, spit it out." said Skipper impatiently.

"Well, I was wondering, Martin said you came from a land far away from here. Is that true?" he asked timidly.

Cloud got to his paws and stretched, then looked at the mouse. "Aye, it is. Why do you ask?" he said. Then a sudden question formed into his head. "Wait, who is this Martin? I've heard him mentioned several times since I've arrived, and I was told that he said we were coming. How could he do that? Is he a seer or something?" asked the ferret.

"Not exactly. See, Martin is the guardian of this here abbey." said Tantel.

"So he's a warrior?" asked Cloud.

"Yes...well, not anymore. Martin died a long time ago. More seasons then anybeast could count. But he often visits us in our dreams, giving us helpful advice and sometimes even telling us when good or bad things are to come." said Tantel knowingly as he pushed his specticles back onto his nose.

Cloud sat open mouthed as he heard what was being said. "Y-You mean, a dead warrior talks to the dwellers of this abbey?"

Skipper nodded. "And sometimes to beasts outside as well."

Suddenly, the door behind them flew open and they saw Zango trying to pull himself inside. Every dibbun in the abbey was either on his back, or pulling on his cloak or tail. He struggled, reaching for something to grab onto, but couldn't grasp anything before he was yanked back out the door making it slam behind him.

Cloud, Skipper, and Tantel stared at the door for a moment before they all burst into fits of laughter. "Ahahahahar! Did ya see the look on his face? He looked like he had his paws full with that lot!" shouted Skipper.

"Ohohohoh, I'll say he did. Did you see all those dibbuns behind him? He didn't stand a chance! Ohohohoh!" said Tantel as he held his sides.

Cloud had to hold onto the arm of the arm chair to keep from falling over in his merriment. "Ahahahaha! He looked terrified of them! They must be doing something awful to him to see fear coming from his eyes." he said.

OoOoO

Paws sore, out of breathe, and scared witless, the two foxes ran and ran and ran, never looking back. Bletch was an exellent runner, and had no trouble running long distances. But Riveye had always been the brains of the operation and didn't like to do any strenuous work.

Eventually, fatigue grabbed ahold of the fox, and he fell to the ground, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he took air into his flaming lungs. Bletch, unable to stop because of the speed they were travelling, tripped over his partners prone form and flew strait into a bed of leaves.

Riveye got to his paws angrily and walked over to the sputtering Bletch, then gave him a swift kick. "Watch where yur goin' lumphead!" he shouted. Then turned away and sat on the ground, still heaving.

Bletch got up and stared at the one-eyed fox. "It wasn't my fault, you fell down in front of me!" he said.

"Shut yur yap! My head's poundin'." said the leader as he rubbed his head soothingly.

"So, now what are we going to do? If we couldn't even handle two beasts from that abbey place, then there is no way we could go back and try again." he said.

"Are you mad? We are lucky they didn't slay us on the spot! There's no way I'm going back there. You heard the streamdog, if we go back that littl'n will humiliate us. And we couldn't do nothin' about it niether, else they will slay us." he said. Suddenly, he heard a gurgle from behind him. "Now what's wrong wid you?" he asked as he turned around. His one eye suddenly went wide as he saw Bletch lifted from the ground and fall to pieces.

A black spectre like cat stood over him with three blades protruding from his right paw dripping with Bletch's blood. The fox sat paralyzed with fear as the beast approached him. When he stood only a few feet away, the lynx stopped and looked at the fear induced vermin. "Now..." he said with a ghost like voice. "Tell me more about this...abbey place."

OoOoO

Later that evening, Redwall was alive with the sound of everybeast cheering and singing to the festival that was finally taking place. Feasting, dancing, feasting, playing of different instruments, feasting, games, and more feasting. That was the only thing on anybeasts mind that night.

At the edge of the pond, all the dibbuns sat eating and listening to the ferret warrior tell a story from his past. Sister Mary was among those sitting with the dibbuns, making sure none got out of hand. But she was so focused on the ferret that she didn't notice the baby mole stealing food from her plate.

Standing with his back to the pond, Cloud acted out his story playing many roles. "So, I was travelling across the country to find a peaceful place to live. One day, I ran into this smelly pack of vermin. 'Ar!' says the leader. 'Gimme all yur treasures and trinkets and I'll let ye live.' 'But, I don't have any.' says I. 'Yur lyin', I can see it in yur beady little eyes! Get 'im boys!' says he. And they attacked me all at once." said the ferret as he hollered in the vermin accent.

Dibbuns squealed in delight as the ferret played out a battle with himself. "Gerrum' mista ferret! Bonk 'is ears in!" shouted Azlu from the crowd.

"Look out behind you! Der's a smelly rat sneakin' up on ya!" yelled a baby mouse that was jumping up and down excitedly.

"Give 'em the ol' spoiky claw!" shouted Murgo, Foremole's second in command who got carried away with the play.

Eventually, Cloud, acting as a rat, fell over defeated. Jumping to his paws, he turned to the crowd and said, "Finally, after seasons of battling the three vermin, I defeated the last one. Ya know what I did then?" he asked.

The entire crowd, including the grown beasts shouted, "What?"

Turning around, he spotted Zango who was washing his paws in the pond before eating. "I grabbed them all and made 'em take a bath!" he shouted, then sent a swift kick to the black foxes rear end. Zango, completely unprepared for the attack, flew head over tail into the pond. Everybody watching burst into laughter that nearly shook the abbey walls.

Mary had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. She rolled around on the ground with the dibbuns as they all cried with helpless mirth. Suddenly, Zango stood in the shallow part of the pond, dripping wet and glaring at the ferret.

Cloud turned to the crowd of dibbuns and said, "Uh oh, looks like he's angry, better run for it!" The reaction was immediate as the audience of babes dashed away from the pond squealing and laughing at the thought of being chased by the fox. Zango got out of the water and shook the water from his fur then walked away disgruntled.

Cloud smiled as he watched the dibbuns scatter. "Um...pardon me, but..." said a voice behind him. He turned and saw Sister Mary standing nervously behind him.

"Yes? Is there something I can help you with?" he asked politely.

"Well, I was hoping you could clear something up for me." she said. He nodded and she continued. "Well, surely you've heard of Martin the Warrior by now?"

"Aye, the gatemouse and Skipper told me about him. He was the one who predicted my coming right?" he asked.

Smiling now, she nodded vigorously. "Yes, he gave us a kind of riddle. And it mentions everybeast that came except you." she said.

He looked at her oddly. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Well, the poem mentions that somebeast that is as black as night is coming. That would be your friend the fox. Then two beasts from the sea, which would be the two otters. Then one from the gallant band of the mountain of fire. That explains the hare. But the only other creature mentioned, it says comes from the sky, and I don't mean any offense by this, but that doesn't exactly fit your description." she said.

Cloud smiled. "Maybe we should be properly introduced." he said.

Taken aback, she nodded and said, "I am Sister Mary of Redwall." she said.

"Nice to meet you Mary, my name is Cloud Longspear." he said.

"Nice to meet you too, but what does that..." she started to ask, but suddenly it dawned on her. "Cloud...your name is Cloud! Cloud's come from the sky!" she said excitedly.

"Last I checked they did. So, Mary, would you like to accompany me to the feast?" he asked holding out his arm.

She smiled and took his arm. "I would love to." she said, then together they walked over to the feasting tables.

OoOoO

Mel had heard about the visitors being creatures from another country. He knew they were probably a lot different than the Redwaller's, but it didn't bother him. Right now, his mind was focused on one thing.

"Where is she?" he asked as he looked around the grounds. "Skipper said she was over by the pond, but the only ones there were washing their paws." Talking to himself, he continued to walk past creatures. Suddenly, he spotted her walking with somebeast towards the tables. "Aha! There she is! But...who is she walking with?" he asked. He ran towards her until he stood in her path, staring at the figure holding onto her. The latern light finally illuminated the creature, and as he saw Cloud, he cowered in horror. "No...no!" he shouted as the ferret got closer to him. Images of his past crept into his head as he crawled backwards, trying with all his might to get away from his greatest fear.

OoOoO

Hello to all my reviewers! Thank you for staying loyal to me throughout my move! I hope that soon I will be able to get my story up and running again, but until I do, I hope you all will stay with me until the end. Thank you, I only write for you!

J.C.


	10. Call of the Wolf

OoO( 9 )OoO

Darkness surrounded him. He seemed to be floating in the center of some dark abyss. Looking around, he noticed that the darkness was starting to form images around him. Suddenly, he recognized the location the abyss was taking him. He turned and tried to run, but he couldn't go anywhere. The scene settled, and he saw a young mouse sitting on the floor of a comfortable den, playing with a small nut hammer. Turning, he also saw two adults sitting in chairs by the fire.

The mother turned to the son and smiled at him. "Are you done eating yet?" she asked him. The baby mouse smiled at his mother and nodded enthusiastically. "Good, cause its almost time for your bath." she said as she stood up and walked towards him.

The infant jumped to his feet and ran for cover. "Nonononono! No baff!" he shouted and ran around the small den. His mother laughed and chased him around the room, letting him get a head start on her. He giggled and ran for the door, then opened it and ran outside.

"No! Don't go outside!" shouted the mother. But he didn't listen. He ran out into the night, then suddenly stopped in his tracks. His mother went to run out after him, but stopped in the doorway as well. They both looked ahead at the new visitor.

"Well, 'ello there. Lookie what I found, a little tot and his beauty of a mother." said a voice in the darkness. "Lets see wha' else you got in that little 'obble of yours." said the voice in a wicked tone. He walked forward, making the child and his mother run back into the house. He followed them in, lighting the vermins features up from the firelight. He was a ferret with gold hoops through his ears and a large scimitar over his shoulder.

The father jumped to his feet and turned to grab a shortsword they had mounted on the mantle. But before he pulled it clean of the mount, he found himself staring down at a blade protruding from his gut. Both of the other mice in the den screamed loudly, causing the ferret to turn to them. The mother grabbed her son and ran for the door. Quickly, she shoved him out the door and yelled, "Mel! Run!"

"But mommy...!" shouted the child as he reached for her.

"Mel! Just go!" she shouted. Suddenly, she gasped as the blade was thrust through her back.

"Mommy! Nooooooooooo!" he shouted with tears running down his face. Standing up, he turned and ran blindly into the darkness of the forest.

OoOoO

Mel woke up with a startled jump. He reached up and wiped perspiration from his brow as he breathed heavily. "Not again." he said to himself as he kicked his feet off the bed.

"Eh? Whats'at?" asked Balfred from his bed across from Mels.

Mel looked at his friend in the darkness. "Nothing. Just a nightmare." he said with a sigh.

Balfred sat up also. "From the sounds of it, you've been having this nightmare for a while." said the hedgehog. Mel said nothing. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked.

Mel shook his head. "No, I managed to ignore it for the longest time...but that ferret..."

"You mean Cloud?" asked the hedgehog. Mel looked at him with a resenting expression. "Look, don't look at me like that. He's actually a goodbeast. You should get to know him." he said.

"Thats the last thing I want to do. I don't understand why they would let a ferret in Redwall anyway

..." he said, but was cut off.

"Listen Mel, you don't know him. He isn't like the vermin roving around the woods out there. He's from across the sea, where they live peacefully." said Balfred.

Mel glared at his friend across the room. "So, you are on his side then?"

"I don't understand you sometimes. Just get some sleep, and I'll introduce you to him tomorrow. You'll warm up to him eventually." he said as he rolled back up on the bed. Mel mearly shook his head gravely. "And don't shake your head at me, its settled." he said in a stern tone.

Mel laughed at his friend. "I'll never understand how you can see me with your back turned." said Mel as he layed back down.

"Family secret." said the hedgehog. "Now sleep, before I put you to sleep the hard way." he said jokingly.

OoOoO

Morning rose over Redwall Abbey and Mossflower Woods. The sun climbed into the sky and cast its warm glow over the entire woodland, ready to wake the creatures to start their day. But, there was one creature who didn't sleep a wink. He sat, shivering from fear next to a greatrat in the tent of a wildcat.

"Calm down mate, you'll only make him angry with your shivering and chattering." said Greytooth. The fox looked up at the rat with his one good eye. "And try an firm yourself up a bit, you look pitiful on the ground like that." he said.

Suddenly, the tent opened and the fox covered his head. Scorch walked in and stopped, staring at the cowering fox. "Whats wid him?" asked the weasel. Greytooth shrugged.

"So, whats this about? Why was I summoned?" asked the greatrat. Scorch didn't answer immediately, but rather went about the buisiness of polishing off the makeshift throne with a cloth rag. Greytooth was going to ask again when finally the weasel spoke.

"The fox there was found out in the woods by our lord when he was hunting. When he found him, he said he mentioned something about an abbey somewhere in the woodland. He wants to verify this with you." said the weasel. "I'm sure you already know this, but be careful how you talk towards him. He is to be referred to as 'my lord', nothing else. And never lock eyes with him. He takes that as a threat. Be polite, and all you have to worry about is his mood swings. He has them quite often, so be careful." he said. After finishing the chore, he stood next to the throne and waited.

After a while, the wildcat strolled into the tent without his gauntlets on, much to the relief of Scorch. He walked over to the throne and sat down, with both paws on the arms of the wooden chair. Looking down at the fear struck fox, he smirked. "So...what is your title?" he asked sternly.

The fox looked up at him, his eye wide open. "M...Me?" he asked. Suddenly, he yelped in pain as Greytooth kicked him in the back of his footpaw. Straightening up again, the fox replied, "M-My name is Riveye milord." he said in a shaky tone.

"Very good. As you have no doubt heard by now, I am Dregg Ironclaw. I rule all that you see. The food that you have eaten, the water that you have no doubt drank, the air that you breath. It all belongs to me." he said, making the fox nod rapidly. "In advance, I would like to apologize for what I did to your friend out there. Never can be too careful...you know how it is." he said. The fox said nothing. "Now then, I would like to question you about what you and your friend were conversing about. This abbey place you mentioned, what exactly is it?" he asked gently.

"I-Its a big castle milord. At the edge of the woodland is a castle that a bunch of woodlanders live in. 'S called Redwall I think." he said scratching his head.

"A castle you say?" asked the warlord, now sitting back with an intrigued look on his face. "And how big is this castle?"

"Errr...more than big enough for yur army if'n thats what yur thinkin'." he said, then received another kick from the greatrat. "Err...milord." he said quickly.

A large smile creased the wildcats features. Then he turned to Greytooth. "Does he speak true?" he asked the greatrat.

Greytooth thought for a second, then responded. "I do recall there being a place called Redwall Abbey somewhere in the woodland. But I haven't been there, nor seen it myself. The old boss said they were very viscious in that abbey. Most of his other band was ambushed by three hares from that place and was torn apart. He was the only survivor milord." he said thoughtfully.

"Hmmm...warbeasts huh? This ought to be interesting. So, where is this Redwall Abbey?" asked the warlord curiously.

"Its about two days march south milord. I was there a day ago, but some kinda black beast and a riverbeast ambushed me and my partner. That fox...he was like nothing I had ever seen before. Looked like death 'imself." said Riveye, shivering slightly. Then, opening his eye again, he found himself face to face with the wildcat warlord. His eye was wide open with fear.

"Like death himself huh? You say that as if you had met death." said Dregg sadistically. The fox once again cowered to the floor. "You will learn to fear me more than some black fox." he said. "Greytooth, he is now under your command. Take him to your camp. Tomorrow, we are marching for Redwall, and I will take this castle for myself." he said, then flourished his cloak as he turned his back. "Now, begone from my..."

Suddenly, a loud noise woke the whole vermin horde and had them all in arms. Each and every one of them felt their insides go cold as the howl ripped through them like a hail of arrows. For once, the horde feared something more than their own leader. Anybeast in the camp knew that they would never want to stand face to face with a creature that sounded like that.

Ironclaw began shouting at the top of his lungs. "Get out of here now!" Immediately, all within the tent fled with a quickness to match a slingstone flying through the air. Dregg backed against his throne and looked all around him. He knew what that was, and he immediately covered his armored chest with a paw. Beneath the armor, a large scar stretched from hip to shoulder, showing the skin where the fur couldn't grow back. His heart hammered against his chest as the howl died down. He wrapped his cloak tightly around him and slid to the ground.

OoOoO

Redwall woke joyful that morning. But the warrior ferret chose to become better friends with the comfortable dormitory bed he slept in. His instinct woke him up early in the morning, but he lay in the bed staring through the darkness of closed eyes as he fluffed the pillow under his head. Eventually, he decided to rise and look at the incredible abbey in the light of the morning sun. Wearing only a soft green tunic supplied to him by Sister Mary from the infirmary, he strolled out of the dormitory and into the great hall.

The tapestry on the wall caught his eye and he walked over to it and marvelled at its beauty. There stood a warrior mouse clad in armor, holding a beautiful sword. All around him, every manner of evil beast fled in terror. Then, he locked eyes with the warrior. The mouse smiled down at him with a warm and inviting smile. But, in the same smile he read a stern and protective air. He instantly knew that this was the Martin warrior he had heard about so much, and without even meeting the mouse, he already had great respect for him.

Then, his eyes drifted down to the sword below the painting. It was draped across two metal hooking supports placed in the wall. He examined it closer and noticed two grooves down the blade, channels almost. Tracing them with his paw, he ran them all the way to the metal crosshilt. Running his paw over the hilt, he squeezed the tightly bound handle, and gently lifted the sword from its place on the wall. It was very light compared to the heavy spear he always swung around, but he could tell it was much sturdier from the way it swung and danced through the air.

He spun several times, dodging left and right as if he were fighting a foe right there in the great hall. Ducking slightly, he thrust the blade forward and pulled back, spinning again, swinging it aloft, making it cut through the air like it were some ritualistic dance. Suddenly, he stopped with the blade pointing forward above his head with one arm forward...pointing strait at a surprised hedgehog. Quickly, he dropped the stance and almost panicked.

The hedgehog, a sturdy full grown male, stared at him in fascination. "I...I'm sorry!" said the ferret quickly as he dashed to the wall and put the sword back onto the rungs. He turned and bowed apologetically to the hedgehog, then turned to leave out the front door.

"Wait!" said the hedgehog in a gruff voice. The ferret halted and turned to the beast in a slow and guilty manner. The hedgehog walked forward and smiled brightly at the ferret. "That was some amazin' sword work you did there lad." said the large hedgehog in a cheerful tone.

Cloud looked up at him and scratched his head. "Oh...uh...thanks." he said confused.

"Where did you learn that little lot from?" he asked curiously.

"Oh...well, I had a teacher back when I was younger. He was a big beast, black and white. He taught me everything I know about weapons and combat." he said remembering his teacher.

"Black and white? What kind of creature was he?" asked the hedgehog, taking an interest in the ferrets tale.

"Not sure myself. He was the only creature like him I had ever met. From the grey in his fur he must have been pretty old at the time, but everytime I asked him what he was, he said he was a fossil." said the ferret amusedly.

"Ahahahahahaha! Sounds like a wise beast to me. And I see he was a warrior, a grand one too if'n he taught you to swing a kitchen knife like that. So, what say we go down and sample some of the breakfast from the kitchens?" asked the friendly hedgehog.

"Aye, that sounds good. By the way, I never got your name." said the ferret holding out his paw.

"I reckon thats cuz I never gave it to ya. You can call me Danpin." he said grabbing Clouds paw firmly and shaking it.

OoOoO

In the kitchens, the friar squirrel was bustling around the kitchen preparing breakfast for the waking abbey beasts. He dashed to a pot of boiling oatmeal and poured a ladle of honey into the concoction. Using his dockleaf, he fanned the fumes toward him, then took in a big gulp of the steam. Satisfied, he turned to attend the tray of scones in the oven when he saw the two visitors at the doorway.

"Mornin' Treetal. How's the breakfast looking?" asked the mighty hedgehog.

"That's Friar Treetal to you. And you will know how breakfast is when its done. Now if you are quite finished snooping around in here, you can wait in the cavern hole with every other beast. Now, be off with you!" shouted the friar, waving his dockleaf threateningly.

Danpin raised his paws as if surrendering. "Woah, belay the threats me ol' pal. I brought a feller thats never tasted a Redwall breakfast before. Why, he's been living his life eatin' from the woods. Look at 'im, he's almost fur and bones!" said the hedgehog dramatically.

"I say, never had a Redwall brekkers before? What have you been doing with your life old lad?" asked a voice behind them. They turned to see a hare striding up to the door. Looking at Cloud, the comical creature sniffed the air. "Is that scones I smell? And spiced apple pudding!? Good greif Friar Treetal, your making my poor mouth water out here."

Suddenly, a wooden spoon flew from the door and right between the hares ears. The beast stood on his tip paws with one paw pointing directly at the hare. "You! You are to be nowhere near my kitchen! Redwall is lucky to have food in its larders with a glutton like you around!" he shouted. Danpin turned around only to have a door slammed, making him step back.

"Well, he was in a fine mood this morn. Wouldn't you say?" he asked turning to his new friend. -But, Cloud had disappeared. "Now, where did he get off to?" he asked looking around the room.

Clovy was touching the fur in between his ears, making sure that nothing had been damaged by the projectile when he heard the question. "Not sure old chap. Was worried I might have lost one of me ears to that spoon for a moment, wot!"

OoOoO

Inside the kitchen, the friar sighed as he put his back against the door. Looking up at the startled newcomer, he smiled slightly. "So...never had a Redwall breakfast huh?" he asked. The ferret shook his head dumbly. "Well, then you have a lot to learn today. My assistant is out in the orchards for the day, so you are my new recruit for now." he said.

Cloud stood stiff at attention and saluted smartly. "Cloud Longfork reporting for duty!" he shouted. The friar chuckled, then put a chefs hat on the ferrets head.

"Good, now, lets start with these scones." Friar Treetal said.

OoOoO

Breakfast was served later that morning by the friar and his new apprentice. The creatures in the Cavern Hole were highly amused at seeing the ferret fly around with a chefs hat on, placing different foods on the table. When he had finished, the abbey dwellers all sat at the tables and began eating as the panting ferret leaned against the wall. The friar walked up and nodded approvingly. "Good work there. You may become my new assistant before long." said the friar squirrel.

Cloud nodded and smiled. "I've never worked around so much food before. It really is quite exhausting, and mouth watering." he said.

The friar nodded and shoved the ferret towards the table. "Now, go enjoy a hard mornings work!" he said. Cloud needed no more goading, for he found himself a spot next to Ivan and started to choose from the tasty looking scones on the platter in front of him. Taking one, he began to nibble on it as he scanned the faces at the table for Zango. Suddenly, he locked eyes with a mouse. Instantly he felt himself heating up, as if before a battle. The mouse looked at him with an expression of utter hatred in his eyes.

Cloud set the scone down and stared back at him, not with a look of anger, but confusion. The mouse stood up and left the table, walking out the door of the Cavern Hole. Cloud watched him go before digging back into the scone.

OoOoO

The ferret and two foxes sat on the wallstairs holding a hands over their stomach. "Oy...that was by far the best breakfast I have had in a long time my friend." said the warrior as he patted his bulging tunic. Zango laid his head on the stair behind his head and closed his eyes. "Hahaha...getting lazy already? I think Redwall is going to turn you into a farm beast my friend." he commented. Cloud turned his head and saw two figures approaching him. One was a hedgehog wearing a thick apron, and the other was the mouse from breakfast. Cloud stood and watched as the two got closer.

"Don't worry, I know you will like them..." said the hedgehog. Mel just looked away from his friend with his arms crossed. Looking ahead, Balfred spotted the creatures on the wallstairs and nudged his friend. "There they are, lets go." he said as he sped his pace up. When they arrived, Balfred smiled brightly and nodded to the ferret. "Good day to ya Cloud." he said.

"Balfred! What have you been doing all day? Did you taste the breakfast this morning? I helped the friar make it!" he said in a bright tone.

The hedgehog nodded. "That I did. It was marvelous, especially the strawberry tarts. They were perfect!" Balfred remarked. "Oh...Cloud, this is my friend Mel. Mel, this is Cloud Longpike." he said jokingly. Cloud jabbed the hedgehog gently in the shoulder. "I was just joking. Cloud Longspear, I know." he said slugging the ferret and making him go flying backwards.

Cloud stood back up rubbing his arm tenderly. Sticking out his paw to Mel, he said, "Good to meet you Mel." with a smile.

Mel looked at his paw, then back up to his face. Sticking his paw out, he clasped the other beast and shook. But as soon as he did, he got a sickening feeling in his stomach. Jerking his paw away, he said, "I'll see you later Balfred, I have something to do."

Balfred looked at his friend startled. But, before he could speak, Cloud spoke up. "You know, I don't know these woodlands, but where I come from it generally rude to jerk ones paw away from a greeting." he said.

Mel turned and glared at him. "Then maybe you should go back to where you came from." he said, then turned and was about to leave when he stopped again. His eyes went wide in horror as he saw Sister Mary standing only a few feet away with a horrified look on her face. "M-Mary...I.."

Her face instantly changed from shocked to anger as she walked up and stood in his face. "Don't you Mary me! That was completely uncalled for Mel! How dare you treat a Redwall guest with such rudeness!" she shrieked, making Mel shrink.

"Sister Mary, it was just a misunderstanding." he said. Walking over to the two, he stared at Mel.

"Misunderstanding or not! He shouldn't have treated you like that!" she said to him sternly. She turned to Mel again, but he was gone. She looked across the landscape and saw him sprinting across the lawn towards the abbey building with his head low.

Suddenly, everybeast in Redwall feel cold fear slide along their spine. They all stared up into the sky as a loud howl reached their ears. Cloud instantly looked up as he heard the call. Zango and Liska jumped to their feet.

"W-w-what was that sound?" asked Mary frightened.

Cloud listened until the call ended, then grabbed Mary and pulled her along with them as they all ran to the abbey building. "Thats bad news..." said Cloud as his footpaws pounded to the ground like heavy rain.


	11. Parting Ways

OoO( 10 )OoO

The fire mountain on the western coast was quiet. Everything inside was still and unmoving. Lady Faye sat at the head of a room in a giant stone chair, staring at the faces of all the hares in the mountain as they were all crammed tightly into the chow hall.

Faye stood to her feet, anger sweeping her features. Captain Tenneal stood next to her, completely dwarfed by her size. She stood at her full height, staring at the sea of faces. "My warriors, it has come to my attention by the good Captain Tenneal that there is a vermin horde roaming the land of Mossflower. This horde is not as massive as some of the vermin we have faced, but from the information I have received, they are ruthless when it comes to innocent lives. They kill all in their path without taking prisoners."

Josiah nudged the large hare Jaoford. "You think she's gonna draft more into the Long Patrol?" he asked.

"You could wait and find out for yourself." said the giant hare.

Lady Faye continued with her speech. "As the guardians of this land, it is our job to erradicate these beasts. So, what I plan to do is expand the long patrol and send them to find the vermins camp. Once they find out the location, they are to immediately report back to Salamandastron. Once we have their location, we will move a force large enough, headed by myself. to crush them." she said.

The faces of the younger recruits lit up at the mention of the possibility of joining the Long Patrol. There was a large murmur across the chow hall, which was soon silenced by Jaoford as he slammed his fist upon a table, making a loud _Bang!_ echo across the hall. Next to Captain Tenneal stood another slightly larger hare wearing a read velvet tunic with medals of every different color and shape upon it and a large black beret over his ears. He marched forward and stopped.

"The list will be placed in 12 days. So all of you who are eligible be sure that you are prepared to leave!" he shouted. "I swear, by my oath to Lady Faye and by me pride as a soldier! Before the end of this season, that vermin horde will be wiped from the face of Mossflower!" he shouted.

"We're with you to the end Colonel!" shouted Jaoford. Then, others began shouting as well.

"Give 'em blood and vinegar!"

"Beware vermin! You 'ave the Long Patrol on your heels!"

The Colonel shouted once more. "What do we say to those vermin?"

OoOoO

Seagulls were bouncing hungrily along the sands outside, looking for shellfish to pry open. Two of them began to snap at each other as they fought for a fish that was unlucky enough to be skimming the water top when it was hunting. Suddenly, the gulls all took flight rapidly as a frightening call rang from the mountain, almost shaking the ground.

"Euuuuulaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

OoOoO

At the request of the ferret warrior, Abbess Belle called another meeting in the Great Hall. This time, Cloud sat next to the Abbess with Zango on his other side. All the creatures of Redwall, save the dibbuns, were gathered in the hall to have a council.

The abbess stood and called everyone to attention. "My friend and guest here at Redwall has just informed me of some grave news." she said. Every eye in the hall was now on her, and the silence was almost unnerving. "It seems that a threat to Redwall could possibly be roaming Mossflower. Cloud has warned me of a vermin horde large enough to take Redwall seige could be anywhere in the woodland."

The audience gasped in horror at the proclomation. Cloud waited until the din died down before he spoke up. "I'm afraid that I'm no good at sweetening bad news. So, I'm going to tell you strait to your faces. This band is run by a wildcat, more fierce and ruthless than any beast can imagine."

"So this is the one you spoke of then?" asked Ivan. Cloud looked at him. "Back at our cave, you mentioned someone you were looking for, but couldn't find. Is this wildcat him?" he asked.

Cloud was silent for a moment. Standing strait, he looked at Ivan and spoke again. "Yes. Truthfully, I know of the wildcat from my homeland..." he said, but was cut off.

"So you were in cahoots with that cat! Foxes, cats! It doesn't..." shouted Ruddik. But he stopped talking immediately. Cloud gave him a look that would have killed a lesser beast.

"Don't you dare put me in league with that cat. The only thing that I have to do with that cat is that I'm going to be the one that ends his days." he said. "There was only one beast in this land that I ever told this story to. But it must come out eventually. The reason I'm in this land is because my group here and our leader, who is somewhere in the woodland, are chasing this cat to the end of time if we have to. In my land, there is nothing but war and conquest. That is why I am the warrior you see today. But I didn't want to always run around defending myself, sleeping with one eye open at night. So, I settled down in a relatively peaceful part of the land. I found a mate and had a son, and for the longest time I was happy. But then, while I was away from the village, this wildcat attacked and left none alive." he said, now with his head hanging down.

The entire crowd was horrified at the ferrets story. "We buried the dead, took what we could salvage from the village, and began to chase him. Two seasons we have been chasing him. Finally, we found a group of vermin that he had left behind in our land. We learned that he had sailed across the sea, so we found a ship and gave chase. That is how we landed here in your country." he said as he finished. "That howl everyone heard was our leader, and it signifies that he has found the wildcats location. Which is bad news for Mossflower. If he finds Redwall, I am sure that he will try and take it for himself. He will stop at nothing to rule everything he finds. Which...which is why I must go."

The crowd gasped. "B-But why? What will we do if he comes here while you are gone?" asked a scared squirrel.

"I give you my oath that he will never reach inside the gates of this abbey. But, in order to keep that oath, I have to leave this beautiful place and make sure that he doesn't head this direction." he said.

"And that'll be where I come in old lad." said Beovar as he stood. "I am coming with you. The Long Patrol and Lady Faye will want to know of this hordes location." he said. Cloud nodded.

"Me, Beovar, and Zango will all go together and deal with this problem. The rest of you stay out here, and make sure that you don't go too far outside your abbey." he said as he turned from the table with the hare and walked away.

OoOoO

Sister Mary, Balfred, Danpin, Ivan, Skipper, Songcrest, Liska, and many others that had grown fond of the warriors all gathered at the gate to see them off. Sister Mary handed each of them a pack with supplies in it for the journey. She hovered behind Cloud as the others gave them parting gifts for the trip. Cloud turned to Mary and smiled. "What is it Sister?" he asked.

She glared at him. "Don't call me sister...it makes me sound so old!" she said.

He grinned broadly and held his paws up defensively. "Alright, Mary it is then. Is there something I can do for you before I go?" he asked.

She nodded, then took a red scarf from around her neck. Walking forward, she placed it around his neck and said gently while looking down. "Please come back alive." Cloud stared at her momentarily, then lifted her chin.

"Don't worry beauty. It's gonna take a lot more than one wildcat and his army to keep me from missing another breakfast here and another of your songs." he said. She looked at him and hugged him tightly. Patting her on the back, Cloud sighed. She let go and backed into the crowd again. They grabbed their weapons, and walked out the gate. They all waved off the travellers before closing the gate behind them.

Danpin stayed behind with Mary after the others had left for the abbey. "Don't worry lass, he'll come back. I've seen him swing a sword around, and I know he will handle himself well out there." he said.

Mary nodded. "I know, he is very strong. I can see it in his eyes. But it worries me. The story he told said that this wildcat is a monster. I just hope that he doesn't get caught up in something he can't get out of." she said sadly.

Danpin stared at her a moment, then smiled broadly. "Ahhhh hogwash. He'll clean up this country, then come back wearin' that cat as a cloak. You just wait and see. Now, you need to get to the infirmary missy." he said.

She looked up at him surprised. "And why is that?"

"Cause, yur breakin' my heart with that sad face of yours and I need someone to fix it." he said jokingly.

She chuckled and started to chase him back to the abbey. "Danpin you old pinpig, I'll give you make sure you are infirmary bound for the next season!" she shouted.

Danpin ran towards the abbey building. "Ahhh...Cloud! Help! I've got a tyrant on my tail!" he hollered as he put a burst of speed on.

OoOoO

"So, you think they heard it?" asked Shinrah. Willow was wiggling a paw in her ear when he asked the question.

Looking up at him, she shouted, "What!?"

He glared at her. "You heard me..."

"Yes I did, loud and clear. And I guarantee with as loud as that was, I'd be surprised if the beasts in our country didn't hear it." she said looking up at him.

"Good. I want to make sure they heard it. Now, I'm going to scout ahead and see if I can't find something to eat." he said.

"Alright. I'll stay here and watch the camp." she said. He nodded to her and began sniffing around, then took off into the woodland. Willow sat down and set her bow down next to her. Taking off her quiver, she leaned back and relaxed. After a while, Shinrah had not returned. She sat there thinking about her past life in the village.

Suddenly, she jumped to her feet and pulled her bow up as she heard a twig snap. Pulling an arrow back on her bowstring, she scanned the area in the direction of the noise. She saw figures moving back and forth along the brush. "Show yourself or risk getting pinned to a tree!" she shouted.

Suddenly, a rat charged at her from behind. She spun around and fired her bow. The arrow flew quickly and hit the rat in the shoulder, making him drop his weapon and fall to the ground shrieking in pain. Four more rats ran out from cover and charged her. She spun and shot another rat in the gut, making him gasp in pain and fall to the ground. Dropping her bow, she jumped and kicked out at a stoat that had a spear aimed at her, slamming her footpaw across his jaw and sending him crashing to the ground.

Another vermin grabbed her from behind, while a fierce looking ferret swung a sickle at her. She leaned back and kicked the sickle from the ferrets paw, then locked her legs around his throat. The ferret struggled as her legs tightened around his windpipe, making it near impossible to breathe. The weasel that had grabbed her from behind let go when he saw his comrade being choked. But, Willow used the momentum to swing low and launched the ferret into his partner. They both crashed to the ground in a heap. Willow glared at them. "Fools." she said, not noticing the rat with an arrow in his shoulder raise to his knees and grab a spear.

The rat drew back the spear to throw at the squirrel, when suddenly a white flash made him scream in pain. Shinrah grabbed the rat in his jaws and crushed him with amazing power, making the creature fall limp and drop the spear. Tossing the vermin aside, Shinrah looked at Willow with a smirk. "You usually aren't that careless Willow." he said.

Willow looked at him with a glare. "Well, usually I fight with friends at my back." she said as she placed her paws on her hips. He laughed briefly, then sat on his haunches. "So, did you find anything?" she asked.

He nodded. "Aye. About an hours trot west of here, there is a group of boats on a river with some strange little mice on them. I could smell that they have food, but from the reactions of most creatures in this place I doubt they would act too friendly towards me. Maybe they will to you, but if not, I'll watch you from the woodline." he said. She nodded, then grabbed her weapon again and jumped on his back.

OoOoO

Truvo the otter and his family were having a joyous afternoon. Since the rain had stopped, the days had been dry and warm on the coast. They were in their cave, having a healthy lunch of shrimp covered in a small ball of dough, left floating in a steaming pot of hotroot stew until they cooked into a golden brown.

Juna grabbed one using a spoon and popped it into her excited sons mouth. Garf, sitting on his mothers lap, munched on the crispy shrimp bobber happily. Truvo was standing outside the cave next to the doorway with one of his brothers, the oldest otter named Shardo. The older otter was staring out to sea at the sails coming in from the horizon.

"What do you think mate? More pirates?" Shardo asked.

Truvo shrugged. "Well, either way this cave has been spotted. Too bad we don't have Cloud and Zango here to help again. But, no point in looking for solutions, we just gotta make our own." he said.

When the ship finally arrived on the coast, the armed otters stood arm to arm on the coast, waiting for the small longboat heading towards the sandy shore. At the bow of the small boat stood a fox with a large blade across one shoulder. When they beached, the fox dove off the boat and approached the otters, followed by a sturdy mouse with two giant blades on his back and more creatures of all sorts. The fox stopped a few feet from the otters and put a large smile on.

"Weel, look wot we 'ave 'ere lads. You lookin' fur a fight waterbeast?" he asked in a strange accent.

"That depends." said the otter. "What are you doing on these shores?" he asked.

The fox stuck his sword into the sand and stretched his arms. "Mebee ah came lookin' fur a tussle." he said. "But no need to mek a war oot o' it. Tell yur kin to back up a bit." said the fox. Truvo waved his arms, dropped his weapon and squatted. His brothers all backed up as the two went at it. The fox dove onto the otter and locked him in a headlock. Truvo flipped the fox over and landed on him, driving a clenched paw into the foxes stomach.

The fox momentarily gasped, but put both footpaws into the otters stomach and launched him across the sand, making him land hard on his back. The fox ran and grabbed the otters feet and began swinging the otter in circles. Letting go, the fox sent him rolling through the sand before tipping over and falling face first in the sand from his own dizziness. Lifting his head to the otters brothers, he said "Mebee tha' wasn't such a good idea." The otter brothers smirked a little.

Truvo jumped up and pounced on the foxes back, grabbing one of his footpaws and stretched it over his back, putting him into a leg lock. The fox yelped and pounded the sand with his fists before finally shouting, "Alright! Ya got me lad, no need to break mah paw!" he said.

Truvo let go of him and backed up. "Had enough have you? So, what are you doing on this coast?" asked the otter.

The fox sat on his rear and massaged his leg. "I see the creatures of this country aren't as defenseless as I thought." he said with a smile.

"This country? You came from across the sea?" asked Truvo. The fox stood and grabbed his sword again.

"Aye, that I am." said the fox. "The name is McGyle. Good to meet you." he said holding his paw out.

Truvo smiled and shook the foxes paw. "The names Truvo mate. I suppose you'll be friends with Cloud Longspear then?" he asked.

The foxes face brightened instantly. "You knoo of 'im then?" he asked surprised.

"Aye, I do. He saved us from quite a situation a while ago." he said. "How do you know him?"

"Me and the ferre' goo way back to childhood. Did ya happen to notice a black fox with 'im?"

"Zango you mean?" asked Shardo with a smirk. "I know him, he owes me from a game of shells." said the otter.

"Tha' would be mah cousin. Hope he wasn't too much trouble, boyo talks too much if'n ya ask me." he said in a sarcastic tone. All the otters burst into laughter at the comment.


End file.
